At a glance

Verona Veneto (the most precisely Verona zone Verona Veneto Italy 45.4384 N 10.9916 E UNESCO WHS 2000 reference 797: the site (Verona: the city whose Roman street plan survives intact in the medieval overlay (the cardinal axis of the Roman city: the cardo maximus = present-day Via Cappello → Via Mazzini; the decumanus maximus = present-day Via Oberdan → Corso Porta Borsari; the forum = Piazza delle Erbe; the amphitheater = the Arena (outside the original Roman city walls (the walls of Augustus I century BCE: the “Ala di Giulio Cesare” visible at Porta Leoni)); the UNESCO inscription criteria: the city was inscribed for “its remarkable series of monuments, buildings and piazzas demonstrating a range of historical periods, from the Roman to the Romantic era”)); the Arena (the Arena di Verona (c.30 CE; approximately contemporary with the Colosseum of Rome (begun 72 CE) but older by 40 years; dimensions: 152 m × 123 m exterior; 139 m × 110 m interior; seating capacity: 30,000 (ancient) / 14,000 (current Festival configuration); the construction technique: the outer ring (the “ala”) of 3 concentric tiers of arches in Valpolicella white limestone (Jurassic Tithonian limestone, 152-145 Ma) + Lessini red limestone (Eocene limestone, 56-34 Ma, used for the decorative columns); the Roman concrete (the “opus caementicium”) core reinforced with basalt aggregate from the Soave volcanic outcrop (15 km east of Verona); the Festival (the Festival Lirico dell’Arena di Verona: founded 1913 CE with Verdi’s Aida (the inaugural performance, conducted by Tullio Serafin (1878–1968 CE); the cast: the soprano Giannina Russ (1873-1951 CE) as Aida; Maria Gay (1879-1943 CE) as Amneris); the modern Festival: 55 performances (June–September); the average audience per performance: 12,000; the candle tradition (the lights-out candle ceremony at the end of each performance: 14,000 candles lit simultaneously in the arena)).