The Stadium of Domitian was a circus located in the Field of Mars (Campus Martius) in northwest Rome.
The Stadium opened in AD 86 and derives its name from the emperor of the day – Domitian. With a similar footprint, it was a scaled-down version of the more well-known Circus Maximus. It was approximately 275 meters long and 106 meters wide and could hold around 30,000 spectators.
With the Circus Maximus being used as the arena for chariot races and the Colosseum being the arena of choice for gladiatorial fights and beast hunts, the Stadium of Domitian was the ‘go-to’ place to watch other athletic contests.
As we can see from this map, the Stadium was located in the northwest of the ancient city, in the Campus Martius. It was next to the Thermae Neronianae (Baths of Nero) and was one of the last major buildings that one would see if one was traveling northwest to cross the Pons Aelius and onto the Mausoleum of Hadrian or the Circus of Nero.
When Domitian came to power, he set about conducting repairs to the city, which was regularly ravaged by fire. However, unlike his predecessors, he was keen to take all the credit for the rebuilding projects. He also built a host of new buildings. In his book, The Lives of the Caesars – The Life of Domitian, Suetonius makes note of both in V.I:
“He restored many splendid buildings which had been destroyed by fire, among them the Capitolium, which had again been burned, but in all cases with the inscription of his own name only, and with no mention of the original builder. Furthermore, he built a new temple on the Capitoline hill in honor of Jupiter Custos and the forum which now bears the name of Nerva; likewise a temple to the Flavian family, a stadium, an Odeum, and a pool for sea-fights. From the stone used in this last, the Circus Maximus was afterwards rebuilt, when both sides of it had been destroyed by fire.”
Fires continued to be a problem in the city, with many structures built close together and a large number made of wood. This resulted in countless buildings being destroyed or severely damaged over the centuries. Not even the Colosseum was immune. The Colosseum was so severely damaged by fire during the reign of Emperor Macrinus in AD 217 that gladiatorial contests had to be moved to the Stadium of Domitian for a number of years.
Cassius Dio recounts the disaster that befell the Colosseum in his Epitome of Book LXXIX of his work, Roman History, XXV.II:
“The hunting theatre was struck by thunderbolts on the very day of the Vulcanalia, and such a blaze followed that its entire upper circuit and everything in the arena was consumed, and thereupon, the rest of the structure was ravaged by the flames and reduced to ruins. Neither human aid could avail against the conflagration, though practically every aqueduct was emptied, nor could the downpour from the sky, which was most heavy and violent, accomplish anything — to such an extent was the water from both sources consumed by the power of the thunderbolts, and, in fact, actually contributed in a measure to the damage done. In consequence of this disaster, the gladiatorial show was held in the Stadium for many years.”
We know that the Stadium was still in use and in great condition by the middle of the fourth century, by the literary sources. In his work, Roman Antiquities, Ammianus Marcellinus attests to a visit to Rome by Emperor Constantius II (who was born in Pannonia and had never visited Rome). The emperor was in awe of what he saw. In Book XVI, X.XIII-XIV, he writes:
“So then he entered Rome, the home of empire and of every virtue, and when he had come to the Rostra, the most renowned forum of ancient dominion, he stood amazed; and on every side on which his eyes rested, he was dazzled by the array of marvelous sights. He addressed the nobles in the senate-house and the populace from the tribunal and being welcomed to the place with manifold attentions, he enjoyed a longed-for pleasure; and on several occasions, when holding equestrian games, he took delight in the sallies of the commons, who were neither presumptuous nor regardless of their old-time freedom, while he himself also respectfully observed the due mean. For he did not (as in the case of other cities) permit the contests to be terminated at his own discretion but left them (as the custom is) to various chances. Then, as he surveyed the sections of the city and its suburbs, lying within the summits of the seven hills, along their slopes, or on level ground, he thought that whatever first met his gaze towered above all the rest: the sanctuaries of Tarpeian Jove so far surpassing as things divine excel those of earth; the baths built up to the measure of provinces; the huge bulk of the amphitheater, strengthened by its framework of Tiburtine stone, to whose top human eyesight barely ascends; the Pantheon like a rounded city-district, vaulted over in lofty beauty; and the exalted heights which rise with platforms to which one may mount, and bear the likenesses of former emperors; the Temple of the City, the Forum of Peace, the Theatre of Pompey, the Odeum, the Stadium, and amongst these the other adornments of the Eternal City.”
However, It did fall out of use in the latter years of the empire, becoming a place for the city’s poor to meet and live. We have evidence that it was still in existence in the fifth century AD, as it is listed in the fifth-century document, Regionaries, with the Stadium located in Region IX. We do not know what condition that Stadium was in at this point, but one would think that it would be in a state of ruin after the lack of building repairs and the numerous sacks of the city in the fifth century.
The area where the Stadium was located is now the Piazza Navona. The Piazza was built over the top of the inner arena floor, while the surrounding buildings were built on top of the Stadium’s seating area.
In his book, The Churches of Rome from the 4th to the 19th Centuries, nineteenth-century historian Mariano Armellini wrote about a church (Sant’Agnese in Agone) that was built atop the ‘Severo Alessandro stadium’. The Stadium was mistakenly attributed to Emperor Alexander Severus as he was involved in repairing the Stadium. This would have led to his name being inscribed on the Stadium, which is where the error likely came from. Page CCCLXXXIV:
“This very ancient church stands on the ruins of the Severo Alessandro stadium (Piazza Navona). According to a Roman tradition, confirmed by the existence of this sacred building, here the virgin Agnes suffered martyrdom in the brothel.”
As noted by stadiodomiziano.com, the Stadium of Domitian is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its ruins are located around 4.5 meters below the modern street level. It also notes a few other pieces of information, including what it was made out of and when the Stadium was re-discovered:
“The building is the only example of a masonry athletics stadium outside of the Greek World and was made in travertine blocks and brickwork. The massive external facade presented two arcades with different orders resting on semi-column pilasters. The main entrances where located in the middle of the two long sides of the Stadium and were characterized by stunning marble columns and arcades.
In 1936, when part of the houses built on one of the curved sides of the Stadium were demolished, experts were able to discover a portion of the cavea (staircase for the audience) where one of the main entrances was located. The archaeological discoveries included numerous sculpture fragments of inestimable value and a Pentelic marble torso: a copy of the 4th century BC Apollo Lykeios by Praxiteles.”
Sources:
The Lives of the Caesars – Suetonius (Thayer)
Roman History – Cassius Dio (Thayer)
Roman Antiquities – Ammianus Marcellinus (Thayer)
The Churches of Rome from the 4th to the 19th Centuries – Mariano Armellini
Stadio Domiziano – stadiodomiziano.com