Stadium of Domitian

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The Stadium of Domitian, also called the Circus Agonalis, was a large sports venue built in Rome around AD 80–86 by Emperor Domitian. It stood where the Piazza Navona is today, just north of the Campus Martius, and was a gift to the Roman people. It was used mainly for athletic contests and was Rome’s first permanent arena for competitive sports; in Christian tradition, Saint Agnes is said to have been martyred there.

The stadium was built with brick and concrete for strength and covered with marble on the outside. It was designed like a Greek stadium, with a long straight section ending in a semi-circle. It could seat about 30,000 spectators, and its exterior would have looked similar to the Colosseum.

Its overall size was about 275 meters long and 106 meters wide. The arena was surrounded by a continuous arcade, and the complex was part of a group of public buildings on the Campus Martius. To its south stood the Odeon of Domitian, and farther south was the Theater of Pompey.

For a few years after the Colosseum fire in AD 217, it hosted gladiator shows. Later, during the late Empire, the stadium fell into decline. The arcades were used as living quarters for the poor, and the arena area became a meeting place.

From the Renaissance onward, much of the structure was stripped for materials. Today, Piazza Navona sits over the stadium’s interior. The surrounding buildings still frame the original arcades, including the Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone.