European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 6, 1964, Darmstadt, Hesse                              Tidy Garden in front of Arena contains interesting modern building loom in background Over ruins of Amphitheater where spartacus once among the statuary at bloody Arena where spartacus fought by Sam Naples Bureau Romes mighty colosseum undoubtedly is bigger and much More infested with vendors and but the magnificent Amphitheater of Santa Maria Capua a Short is Miles North of the Headquarters of Allied forces Southern Europe in is a much More satisfactory spot to peek into the past of 111 centuries it was at the romans of those Days called the the clan spartacus led his revolt of the gladly Tori which nearly toppled the spartacus was a trainee at the Gladia tors school there in 73 when he triggered the the site of the school is lost in the swirl of but it reportedly bordered on the As for he fought and Defeated the Best that name had to escaping an encirclement atop where he had led his army of spartacus was finally betrayed by phoenician pirates who had agreed to transport his army out of and he died in Bailie against finlus Crassus and his Capua Amphitheater was constructed in Romes Golden when the Empire was at its already the seeds of decay were sown but few recognized the of which the games and mighty Amphitheatres were but one aspect on the All was magnificence in the 1st Century As the Walls of the Arena Augustus had ordered it follow ing the same general plan As thai of Romes the emperor Hadrian continued with added embellishments and a Garden with when the Walls Rose four Levels to about to the galleries were shielded from the hot italian Sun by Velum or raised on thick masts this bit of Comfort did not extend to the gladiators fighting for their lives on the Arenas Sands in were sometimes dyed red to protect the sensitive romans from the horror of Loo much spilled the circumference of the fighting ring was about 140 Yards the outer Walls november 1964 More than 170 Yards Romes Collos Seum measures 580 Yards around the statues of psyche and the Venus of now in Naples National decorated the and the Arches and corridors were decorated with mosaics and there were three wide corridors with in the permitting the lower classes to mount to their seals High on the rim of the Arena without coming in Contact with the patricians who had ground floor niches on the corridors housed wine restaurants and refresh ment towering Gates on All sides were topped by Marble Sla Lues and vast decorated with busts of roman leaders and the approaches to the stadium were paved with Marble As in the a thick wooden Wall protected the spectators from the wild slaves also ally pled to neutralize the smells of death Wilh incense and the floor of the Battle area was of Wood and Stone the wooden sections were removed when Naumec hire naval Battles were to be Al this time the Arena floor and Cham Bers beneath would be flooded with wat ers from the diverted Volturno gladiators would emerge from their Chambers on boats and fight Shipto ship in deadly the Arena could be drained of its water quickly by great underground sew ers of Slonic which led Hack to the River bed this was a Quick and easy Way to clean up after the for dry land Sand was scattered Aboul the surface of the and the wild slaves or christians were led from cells beneath the surface to the gladiators were also housed in Chambers beneath the Earth most of them were slaves or but some were free barbarians who fought for the love of the games were usually slag cd by wealthy poll clans and were part of the electoral platform of the times Panem it sirens is bread and Many historians Dale the decline of the Empire from these by Lynn Langfield estimates vary on the sealing capacity of tie Romes colosseum held Veronas Arena most experts reckon Capua capacity As following the glorious Summit of the Rome gradually the split of the Empire to the East and the advances of the barbarians from the North ind persians from the Southeast sapped Rome until about 500 Gen ser co and his barbarian hordes ravaged the territory of Campania and the Arena was the site of several and considerable damage was then in the old Century the stadium was the site of new wars As the Lambard princes used it As a the Lam bards also Tore Oul Greal sections of the Structure and used the Stone for their new palaces and they also ripped the Walls seeking Lead and Iron used to bind the stones As Metal was Short in that soon even the monuments to who wintered in 216 in wore and Only two tiers if the Amphitheater remained As mute Testa Mentlo past in the Middle Ages a marketplace grew up outside the Amphitheater As the sir Fielure sunk slowly Inck in words and in the 18th scholars began Hie slow work of Restora Tion and protecting the stones that re now the italian government guards the Structure and the ruins and directs the continuing work a museum on the site houses some mosaics and busts As Well As other a museum in Capua the new City houses Many of the other Capua Vetre is the real it is Only a few Miles off the Rome Naples but it is hundreds of Miles away from the 20lh it is still delightfully unspoiled no Street vendors Hawk wares to tourists no guides Cluster about those deciding to Sec the Amphitheater can usually count on having it All to with no one to bother the stars and the neat and tidy Garden at the trance is a Gem of design and and statues irom the Amphitheater am scattered about the marketplace out Side is except for when the Farmers bring livestock to town for a Hundred lire ii cents is the admission and on request the guard if there is someone to watch the Gate while Hes take visitors Down into the Chambers beneath the there the passageways Are neat and Well and one can see the Clever stonework which led the Volturno into and out of the stadium on on the Wall of one of the gladiators cells is carved in crude latin the cry with which the fighters greeted their Bloodthirsty audiences Hall we who Are about to die Salute you other phrases carved in the Marble Are not As easily in the stadium on the first or second tier one can look Down on Lush Green grass and orderliness rare in Somo of the sealing areas Are closed off As but it is easy to climb to the top of the Walls or a View of the sur rounding scattered about the outer Walls Are massive blocks of tossed about us if they were a giant baby building the silence is and even the Highway noises a few Hundred Yards Uway Are by tall Moun Lains Range the and Green farms surround the wire no tour buses Thunder ready to disgorge mobs of tourists with trans isl or radios and pompous no one rushes visitors about to Sec this Arch or that Tulue the guard at the Gate Doest even have a pamphlet to sell even the Small lizards which abound in roman ruins seem to be Unwor ried and ignore with a picnic lunch and perhaps a bottle of local Santa Maria Capua pc terms Amphitheater is about As close to a successful time machine As anyone outside the pages of science fiction has come up 11