GALLIA ROMANA

Bernard 1859, pp. 1-14 ; Provost 1988-2, p. 40 ; Lemerle 2005, pp. 32-33, 117

The entertainment venue in question was created in the 15^th century; the site was previously a vast open-air quarry

« Vbi videbis amphitheatrum XXII. graduum maximam partem rupi nativæ incisum absque ulla externa, uti Merula loqui amavit, materiatione calcis, arenæ, lignorum. Justus Lipsius lib de amphith. quæ extra Romam, cap. 6. addit aliquid amplius quàm pagum fuisse hunc locum, cùm ex hoc non pagani operis monimento, tum ex viæ antiquæ publicæque reliquiis, quæ ex pago eodem pertinuit ad pontem Cæsarianum, vulgò [124] Pont de Se: cujus viæ pars adhuc variis locis conspicitur, pars autem maxima corrupta est, lapidibus in ædificia absumptis. Plura vide apud Lipsium allegato loco. Solent etiamnum incolæ quotannis exhibere in eo Comicos ludos. »
= “You will see an amphitheatre with 22 steps, essentially carved into the rock, without any trace of lime, sand or wood, as Paul Merula has observed. Justus Lipsius claims, in chapter 6 of his book on amphitheatres constructed elsewhere than Rome, that this place was larger than a village, since this monument is not a rustic work and because there are remnants of an ancient public road stretching between this area and the Bridge of Caesar, known locally as the 'Pont de Se'; parts of this road are still visible in several places, but most of it has been destroyed, the stones having been taken for building purposes; according to Lipsius, many can be seen incorporated into the buildings here. Even now, it is the custom of the inhabitants to put on plays here each year.”