Square des arènes de Lutèce

The Arènes de Lutèce features curved stone tiers rising from a sunken oval floor, disguised by the surrounding apartment buildings of the Latin Quarter. This was once a Gallo-Roman amphitheater seating fifteen thousand people for gladiator combat and theatrical performances in the second century. Construction crews rediscovered these ruins in eighteen sixty-nine while cutting through the area for a new street. Workers halted their demolition, and a frantic public campaign by writer Victor Hugo eventually secured the site from total destruction.