Amphitheatrum: Statilius Taurus

T. Statilius Taurus (RE IIIA Statilius 34) built the first stone amphitheater in Rome, which he dedicated in 29 B.C. (Dio Cass. 51.23.1; Suet., Aug. 29.5; cf. Tac., Ann. 3.72). This private amphitheater (CIL VI 6226-28) may not have been very large, as it was often passed over for important imperial spectacles (Viscogliosi, Golvin 52). In A.D. 64 fire destroyed the theater (Dio Cass. 62.18.2), which was probably built in large part of wood (Viscogliosi, Golvin 52); consequently its location within the *Campus Martius remains a matter of speculation. Critical evidence for the location of the amphitheater is provided by Strabo, who describes ‘another’ campus (s.v. *Campus Flaminius) within the *Campus Martius ‘with colonnades around it in very great numbers, and sacred precincts, and three theaters, and an amphitheater, and very costly temples in close succession to one another’ (5.3.8; Wiseman). The three theaters are identified without dispute as the *Theatrum Pompeium, *Theatrum: Balbus and *Theatrum Marcelli, and the amphitheater is presumed to be that of Statilius Taurus. As Strabo mentions the amphitheater in the same breath as the other theaters of the SW Campus Martius, we should look for the amphitheater in their vicinity. Three theories regarding the monument, none absolutely convincing, circulate in recent literature, each advancing a different location and line of reasoning. The most convincing hypothesis locates the amphitheater near the Circus Flaminius near Monte dei Cenci, just W of the *Petronia Amnis and the Temple of *Castor and Pollux in circo Flaminio (Marchetti Longhi 130 n.1; Wiseman; Viscogliosi; Coarelli). Those in favor of this site look to the drawings and notes of Piranesi, who viewed remains of a theatral cavea beneath the Palazzo Cenci in 1762 (Wiseman 22 n.64; Lanciani, FUR pl. 21, 28), for further support. Monte Giordano in the NW Campus Martius (sometimes called ‘Monticello’) has also been proposed as a possible site. Attempts to associate the amphitheater with this low eminence (Lanciani, FUR pl. 14; Scagnetti) have been complicated by Jolivet’s thesis identifying the hill as an accumulation of alluvial soil from the *Tiber (as opposed to a collapsed mass of building materials, Coarelli 1997) and as the site of Pompey’s horti (*Horti Pompei). The most persuasive argument in favor of this location is its slight rise; however, one would expect little building rubble left after a largely wooden theater burnt, thus the amphitheater need not be associated with any of the Campus hillocks. Further, Monte Giordano is too far removed from the three theaters in the SW Campus to be the site of Strabo’s amphitheater. Richardson takes a different approach and analyzes evidence related to the fire of A.D. 64 (11). Since the three stone theaters mentioned by Strabo all survived the blaze unscathed while the amphitheater burned, Richardson posits that it must have stood in the SE Campus Martius, specifically in the *Aemiliana (2), an area destroyed during the second outbreak of the fire (Tac., Ann. 15.40). More specifically, Richardson suggests a location E of the Via Flaminia and N of the *Pallacinae: Street (near the S end of the modern Piazza dei SS. Apostoli). Two factors complicate this proposal; first, Richardson’s suggested location lies well outside the Circus Flaminius. Second, the Tacitus passage is ambiguous and could refer to either of two Aemiliana neighborhoods, one in the Campus Martius or the other along the Tiber S of the Forum Bovarium (*Aemiliana [1]). At present the evidence for the location of the amphitheater of Statilius Taurus is far from conclusive; the location near the Monte dei Cenci offers the best fit for the available data. This spot is near the three theaters of the SW Campus and offers sufficient space for an amphitheater, which, however modest, still required a sizeable site (for an impression, see the Berlin Model, where the amphitheater is placed at about this point). Since this proposal is tentative, the monument is only denoted with an index number on our map.