Gladiatorial battles thrilled up to 20,000 spectators at the grassy anfiteatro. Built in 70 BC, it's the oldest known Roman amphitheatre in existence. In 59 AD, the venue witnessed violent clashes between spectators from Pompeii and Nucera, documented in a fresco now found in Naples' Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
14.64 MILES
Naples' National Archaeological Museum serves up one of the world’s finest collections of Graeco-Roman artefacts. Originally a cavalry barracks and later…
15.07 MILES
Originally designed as a hunting lodge for Charles VII of Bourbon, the monumental Palazzo di Capodimonte was begun in 1738 and took more than a century to…
14.3 MILES
It's in this Masonic-inspired baroque chapel that you'll find Giuseppe Sanmartino's incredible sculpture, Cristo velato (Veiled Christ), its marble veil…
8.65 MILES
Herculaneum harbours a wealth of archaeological finds, from ancient advertisements and stylish mosaics to carbonised furniture and terror-struck skeletons…
0.36 MILES
The ghostly ruins of ancient Pompeii (Pompei in Italian) make for one of the world's most engrossing archaeological experiences. Much of the site's value…
Certosa e Museo di San Martino
14.78 MILES
The high point (quite literally) of the Neapolitan baroque, this charterhouse-turned-museum was built as a Carthusian monastery between 1325 and 1368…
15.16 MILES
Naples' oldest and most sacred catacombs became a Christian pilgrimage site when San Gennaro's body was interred here in the 5th century. The carefully…
27.85 MILES
There are castles and then there’s Ischia’s Castello Aragonese, a veritable fort-city set on its own craggy islet, looking like a cross between Harry…
Nearby Pompeii attractions
0.08 MILES
Lithe ancients kept fit at the Palestra Grande, an athletics field with an impressive portico dating from the Augustan period. Used both as a training…
2. Piazza Anfiteatro Entrance & Ticket Office
0.1 MILES
One of two main entrances to the ruins of Pompeii.
3. Casa della Venere in Conchiglia
0.13 MILES
Casa della Venere in Conchiglia harbours a lovely peristyle looking onto a small, manicured garden. It's here in the garden that you'll find the large,…
0.26 MILES
The Via dell'Abbondanza was one of ancient Pompeii's main streets. The elevated stepping stones allowed people to cross the street without stepping into…
0.3 MILES
Better preserved than the larger Casa del Fauno, luxurious Casa del Menandro has an outstanding, elegant peristyle (a colonnade-framed courtyard) beyond…
0.36 MILES
The ghostly ruins of ancient Pompeii (Pompei in Italian) make for one of the world's most engrossing archaeological experiences. Much of the site's value…
0.37 MILES
The Teatro Piccolo was once an indoor theatre renowned for its acoustics.