Of a remorseless goddess and a garden designer

Known as a site of public executions, beast shows and brutal man-to-man fights (with one in five not leaving the place alive) but also as a place of entertainment (with comedy fights, jugglers, music, etc), the amphitheatre of Tarraco, built at the end of the 1st century AD, is spectacular, chosen two years ago as one of the ten wonders of Catalonia. One of the trio of public entertainment buildings, together with a circus and a theatre, that all capitals of Imperial provinces boasted of. Likely to have held about 14,000 spectators, the rows of seating are supported on superimposed vaults with the exception of the north side, where the lower rows of seats are cut into the natural rock. There is also a well-preserved podium where the authorities presided over the games. Access to the arena was by two large entrances at the ends of the long axis, one of which is preserved. Restoration work on the lower vaults of this entrance gate is currently underway as part of a second phase of restoration of the amphitheatre. Once completed, visitors will again be able to access the arena (and not just the stands) and view close-up the two underground passageways (which in Roman times were covered with wood). In one of those ´fossae´evidence has been found of a chapel dedicated to the remorseless maiden goddess Nemesis, patroness of gladiators. The Nemesis mosaic is now in display in the Archeological Museum of Tarragona (MNAT).
Eventually the place was abandoned in the mid-4th century and a Christian (Visigothic) basilica was built inside the arena, re-using (as is so often the case) blocks of masonry and columns of the amphiteatre and other Roman edifices. On the remains of this basilica, a Romanesque church was built in the 12th century. When you visit the amphitheatre, you´ll see what is left of these churches. The park between the Via Augusta and the amphiteatre is now being converted into a ´Roman´-style garden designed to have the same elliptical shape as the amphiteatre and based on surviving examples of Roman gardens. Bucolic charms and martial arts in one camera shot...