Fidenae - History - Stadium Disaster

Stadium Disaster

In 27 AD, an apparently cheaply built wooden amphitheatre, constructed by an entrepreneur named Atilus, collapsed in Fidenae resulting in by far the worst stadium disaster in history with as many as 20,000 dead and wounded out of the total audience of 50,000. The emperor Tiberius had banned gladiatoral games, it seems, and when the prohibition was lifted, the public had flocked to the earliest events, and so a large crowd was present when the stadium collapsed. The Roman Senate responded to the tragedy by banning people with a fortune of less than 400,000 sesterces from hosting gladiator shows, and also requiring that all amphitheatres to be built in the future be erected on a sound foundation, inspected and certified for soundness. The government also "banished" Atilius.