Roman Amphitheatre of Ivrea

Is it worth the trip?

On its own, no: this is a low ground plan seen through a fence, and a look round the outside does not take long. It is worth the short walk if you are in Ivrea anyway. It is free, you can see it at any hour, and it is the one Roman building in town you can stand in front of: the rest of Eporedia – Ivrea is a river crossing rebuilt in 1716 and the fragments of a bridge in the bed of the Dora Baltea (it.wikipedia). The road from the amphitheatre into the old town keeps the line of the Roman road that linked Rome with the lands beyond the Alps (Ministero della Cultura), so the walk in is part of the visit. The painted plaster from the villa, shown in the Museo Garda, completes it.

Getting there

The amphitheatre stands on Corso Vercelli, about 1 km east of the historic centre (Ministero della Cultura; OpenStreetMap). Bus stops on Corso Vercelli are about 130 m away, Ivrea railway station is about 1.1 km in a straight line, and there is a free gravel car park about 60 m from the site, mapped as open Monday to Saturday (OpenStreetMap).

There is nothing to pay to see it from outside the fence. The interior is listed as closed every day (Ministero della Cultura). It opens on special days, or by arrangement with the Comune di Ivrea or the Soprintendenza (it.wikipedia). For the European Heritage Days the Soprintendenza’s archaeologists and the Museo Garda offered guided visits starting at the amphitheatre, entered from Via dei Cappuccini: on 23 September 2023, free, to the restored villa, and on 13 June 2026, to present restoration work at the amphitheatre that was then about to begin; bookings for the 2026 visit went through the museum, on 0125 410512 (Ministero della Cultura).

The Museo Garda in Piazza Ottinetti opens Tuesday to Sunday, 09.00 to 13.00 and 15.00 to 18.00, and is closed on Mondays and public holidays. A ticket is €8, or €6 for over-65s and university students up to 25; under-18s go free (museogardaivrea.it, read 24 October 2026).

History

The amphitheatre was built around the middle of the 1st century AD outside the walls of Eporedia, along the road to Vercelli (Ministero della Cultura; it.wikipedia). Pleiades reads it as evidence of the town’s growing suburbs, and the Ministry describes the same expansion: Eporedia was an obligatory stage on the road from Rome across the Alps, became an important trading centre, and in the imperial period spread beyond its walls, mainly to the east, with new quarters between the amphitheatre and the Porta Praetoria. Published estimates of its capacity run from 10,000 to 15,000 spectators (it.wikipedia; Ministero della Cultura). Spectators came in through entrances at both ends of the long axis, and the podium was faced with studded bronze plates (it.wikipedia).

Its remains have been known since the early 20th century and were excavated systematically between 1955 and 1964 (it.wikipedia). The excavators found many fragments of frescoes and a long stretch of the bronze facing from the backs of the podium seats (Ministero della Cultura), along with coins, pottery and pieces of statues (it.wikipedia). The work was extended to the neighbouring villa in the early 1980s, and only some of its rooms have been explored so far (it.wikipedia). The Ministry lists coins, amphorae, fragments of statues and painted plaster among the finds there (Ministero della Cultura).