Roman amphitheater in Arles, created as a place for entertainment and fun, at the end of the VI century has been turned into a fortress, and today it is the largest ancient structure in the city with the highest degree of safety.

It was built approximately in I century and could accommodate as many as 25,000 spectators. In his appearance he was reproduced image of a classical Roman amphitheater - such as the Colosseum in Rome, which was built in the I century, but was more spacious - it housed up to 50 thousand people.

The width of the amphitheater in Arles was 107 meters, the length - 136 meters, and height - 20 meters. The design of the amphitheater, there were 60 arched openings, four of which were wider than the rest (about five meters), served as the main entrance. For the intended audience 34 tiers of seats.

At the end of VI century appearance and purpose amphitheater changed - we laid some archways and built four towers. Arena, where gladiator fights were held, was the town square, and inside the amphitheater were built two chapels and a few dozen homes. The resettlement of the inhabitants of the amphitheater started only ten centuries later, by order of King Francis I, who during a visit to Arles saw in what condition the construction of ancient remains, and it ended in the first half of the XIX century.

Participation in the future of the amphitheater took Prosper Merimee, who was not only a talented writer, but also an inspector of historic monuments and compiled a register of ancient monuments. During the restoration of the monument was dismantled one of the four towers.

Currently Arles amphitheater, like the Romans, is a venue for entertainment events - plays, operas and bullfighting. The amphitheater is surrounded by densely built houses later, and from the tower at the entrance overlooks the neighborhoods of Arles.