Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) Friday continued The Verona Arena (Arena di Verona) is a Roman amphitheater in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy. The arena was completed in 30 AD and could hold more than 30,000 spectators in ancient times. Verona Arena's outer ring was almost completely destroyed in an earthquake in 1117 and only a small portion of the wall remains from that third level. This Roman amphitheater is the third largest in Italy after the Coliseum in Rome and the arena in Capua. Today, the Verona Arena hosts large scale opera performances during the summer, and the stage for the 2012 opera season was under construction during our visit. The attendance is now limited to only 15,000 people for safety, but over the course of the season 500,000 people attend the Verona opera. The arena has also hosted concerts by Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, The Who, Dire Straits, Rod Stewart, Sting, Pearl Jam and many others. 2012 will be the 90th year of the Opera Festival at the Arena di Verona and during our visit, extensive work was being done to prepare the large stage and other areas of the arena.
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