The Amphitheatrum Castrense is a Roman amphitheatre in Rome, next to the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. Both the Amphiteatrum and the Circus Varianus were part of the palatial villa known as the Horti Spei Veteris and later the Palatium Sessorium. The Regionary Catalogues name it as the "Amphitheatrum Castrense", which could mean it was an amphitheatre connected to an imperial residence.
History
The amphitheatre was built by Emperor Elagabalus (r. 218–222) in the early decades of the 3rd century AD, as dated by the style of the bricks and the absence of brick stamps. It formed part of the Horti Spei Veteris, the imperial villa complex developed by emperors of the Severan dynasty.
The open arches of the outer walls were bricked up when the building was incorporated into the Aurelian Walls (271–275 AD). At that point, it ceased to be used for spectacles and was instead repurposed as a fortification, with the ground level around the structure being lowered accordingly.