Exclusive: Piazza Navona Underground Experience

Dive into Piazza Navona and discover the Stadium of Domitian, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also called the Circus Agonalis. Estimated to once seat at least 30,000 people, the stadium was used for athletic competitions, musical performances and theater shows. For a time, it is speculated that it was even used for gladiatorial combat and, towards the end of the Empire, living space for the poor and displaced.

The intrinsic value of the stadium cannot be overstated — this is a relic of Roman architectural genius and of ancient Rome’s passion for competition and public entertainment. The remains of the Stadium of Domitian are unique in the Roman world, as it is the only known masonry stadium as opposed to the more common wooden structures. Tucked only meters below the street level of Piazza Navona, it echoes with the memory of some of the most iconic entertainment in human history.

The Stadium of Domitian is also related to the Colosseum, in a sense: they were built in the same span of years circa 80 CE, the Colosseum by the emperor Titus Caesar Vespasianus and the Stadium of Domitian by his younger brother and successor, the emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus. Both were constructed as gifts to the Roman people and represented the emperors’ generosity as well as power. The structure itself is marvelously intact and impressively sturdy, constructed out of concrete and marble, and a wealth of treasures have been found inside, including the remains of grand sculptures.