Description
Beneath present-day Via Massimo D’Azeglio, about three metres below street level, lie the remains of the Roman amphitheatre of ancient Hasta. They are preserved today within a privately owned retail space.
The structure was discovered in 1987, during excavation work for a private development. Dating from the second half of the first century AD, the amphitheatre stood on the north-eastern outskirts of the ancient town of Hasta.
The elliptical building measured approximately 104 metres across. Today, mainly its foundations remain visible. These include perimeter walls up to 1.8 metres thick, as well as two radial walls, each 80 centimetres thick, extending towards the centre of the amphitheatre.
The building technique consisted of a solid core of pebbles and mortar, reinforced at intervals of 60 centimetres by double horizontal courses of large Roman bricks known as sesquipedales.