The story of Roman amphitheatre of Durrës

In the middle of modern Durrës, hemmed in by houses, lies the largest Roman amphitheatre ever built in the Balkan Peninsula. Construction began under the emperor Trajan in the 2nd century AD, and it could once hold 20,000 people. Performances went on until the 4th century, when an earthquake probably damaged it.

Later, Christians built a chapel inside it, first decorated with frescoes and then, in the 6th century, with mosaics, which are still preserved. In the 16th century, under the Ottomans, the amphitheatre was covered over. It was discovered again only in late 1966; about a third was excavated in the 1960s, the rest in the 1980s.

Walk its staircases and galleries, built into a sloping hillside, and notice that part of the arena still lies under modern housing. In 2013 Europa Nostra shortlisted it among the most endangered heritage sites in Europe. In summer it becomes the stage of the International Film Summerfest of Durrës.