Anfiteatro Romano, Rimini

If you go down Via Bastioni Orientali from Arco d'Augusto flanking the medieval-Malatesta walls of the medieval city, you will come to the crossroads with Via Roma. This is where you will find one of Rimini's three great monuments. Probably erected during the 2nd Century CE, it was pillaged by the barbarians and damaged further by air raids in World War II. Now there are only a few remains of what used to be one of the largest amphitheatres in Emilia Romagna: the walls, one of the main entrances and some entrances to the balconies. The original shape was elliptical with an arena measuring 76x47 meters with 60 fornices. It could hold between 10,000-12,000 spectators without counting the ones in the supplementary wooden stands. The ring was used for Gladiator fights and fights between animals and men, the Romans' favorite. The public would help decide the fate of a defeated Gladiator by shouting either "missum" (free him) or giving the traditional thumbs down.