{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T11:02:01Z","timestamp":1791198121619,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791158400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Heritage"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The architectural legacy of the Roman Empire is perhaps most viscerally experienced through its monumental performance spaces. The Romans occupied Hispania (modern-day Spain and Portugal) from 218 BC until the fifth century, constructing major architectural works that symbolised the splendour of Rome. Nineteen amphitheatres have been confirmed in Hispania, notably the Amphitheatre of Italica in Santiponce, near Seville. Built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, it is the largest in Hispania and features the greatest capacity outside the Italian peninsula, accommodating approximately 35,000 spectators. Beyond their archaeological interest, increasing attention is being paid to the intangible values of these spaces, such as acoustics. This work provides an acoustic characterisation of the venue through field measurements using 3D impulse responses, obtained from sources strategically placed in the arena and receivers in the cavea. The parametric analysis highlights that Roman performance spaces are optimally conditioned for theatrical productions, but not for music. The study is complemented by examining the sound energy distribution of early reflections in the time\u2013frequency domain to define the acoustic signature of the venue, which unequivocally determines its sound response. This energy distribution is primarily governed by the oval geometry of the amphitheatre and the focusing effect.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/heritage9100408","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T10:02:27Z","timestamp":1791194547000},"page":"408","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Acoustic Heritage of Roman Hispania: Experimental Characterisation of the Amphitheatre of Italica (Spain)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4601-4884","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sara","family":"Gir\u00f3n","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de F\u00edsica Aplicada II, Instituto Universitario de Arquitectura y Ciencias de la Construcci\u00f3n (IUACC), Escuela T\u00e9cnica Superior de Arquitectura, Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes 2, 41012 Sevilla, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4879-6840","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel","family":"Mart\u00edn-Castizo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Programa de Doctorado en Arquitectura, Escuela T\u00e9cnica Superior de Arquitectura, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes 2, 41012 Sevilla, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"e074","article-title":"Errores de replanteo en el anfiteatro de It\u00e1lica","volume":"15","year":"2018","journal-title":"Arqueol. Arquit."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Long, M. (2006). Architectural Acoustics, Elsevier. [1st ed.]."},{"key":"ref_3","first-page":"181","article-title":"Exploring the acoustics of ancient open-air theatres","volume":"45","year":"2020","journal-title":"Arch. Acoust."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.3390\/heritage6010016","article-title":"Rediscovering the intangible heritage of past performative spaces: Interaction between acoustics, performance and architecture","volume":"6","author":"Bellia","year":"2023","journal-title":"Heritage"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"13","article-title":"Modern shows in Roman amphitheatres","volume":"6","author":"Ianniello","year":"2017","journal-title":"Acoust. Pract."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Golvin, J.C. (1988). L\u2019amphith\u00e9\u00e2tre Romain: Essai sur la Th\u00e9orisation de sa Forme et de Ses Fonctions, Boccard."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Navvab, M., Bisegna, F., and Gugleirmetti, F. (2016, January 10\u201314). Capturing ancient theaters sound signature using beamforming. Proceedings of the 23th International Congress on Sound and Vibration, Athens Greece."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bevilacqua, A., Merli, F., and Tronchin, L. (2021, January 5). Acoustic characteristics of the Amphitheatre of Pompei: New approach for the spatial sound analysis. Proceedings of the Immersive and 3D Audio: From Architecture to Automotive (I3DA), Bologna, Italy.","DOI":"10.1109\/I3DA48870.2021.9610957"},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Bevilacqua, A., Iannace, G., Lombardi, I., Trematerra, A., Parente, R., and Berardi, U. (2022, January 6\u20138). The acoustics of the Roman amphitheatre of Avella: Analysis of the existing conditions. Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium: The Acoustics of Ancient Theatres, Verona, Italy."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Berardi, U., Bevilacqua, A., Iannace, G., and Trematerra, A. (2022, January 5\u20139). Virtual acoustic reconstruction of the Roman amphitheater of Avella, Italy. Proceedings of the 183rd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, Nashville, TN, USA.","DOI":"10.1121\/2.0001720"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108524","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apacoust.2021.108524","article-title":"Acoustic design of a new shell to be placed in the Roman amphitheater located in Santa Maria Capua Vetere","volume":"187","author":"Bevilacqua","year":"2022","journal-title":"Appl. Acoust."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107373","DOI":"10.1016\/j.apacoust.2020.107373","article-title":"Acoustics of performance buildings in Hispania: The Roman theatre and amphitheatre of Segobriga, Spain","volume":"166","author":"Galindo","year":"2020","journal-title":"Appl. Acoust."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"(2026, June 14). PIAATRE Project: Patrimonio Inmaterial Ac\u00fastico y Ambiental Asociado a los Teatros Romanos de Espa\u00f1a: Recreaci\u00f3n Mediante T\u00e9cnicas de Realidad Virtual. Available online: https:\/\/grupo.us.es\/piaatre\/inicio.html."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sikora, M., Derek, J., Kraljevic, L., and Jurcevic, A. (2023, January 11\u201315). Acoustics of the Roman Amphitheatre in Salona. Proceedings of the 10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association and Forum Acusticum 2023, Turin, Italy.","DOI":"10.61782\/fa.2023.0090"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bevilacqua, A., Sukaj, S., Iannace, G., and Trematerra, A. (2023). Insight Discovery of the Roman Amphitheater of Durres: Reconstruction of the Acoustic Features to Its Original Shape. Buildings, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/buildings13071843"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Van Tonder, C., Yan, R., and Tronchin, L. (2025). Pompeii Performance Soundscapes in the Amphitheater, the Grand Theater, and the Odeon. Heritage, 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/heritage8060196"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gir\u00f3n, S., Mart\u00edn-Castizo, M., and Galindo, M. (2025). Echo analysis in Iberian bullfighting arenas through objective parameters and acoustic simulation. Appl. Sci., 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/app15147825"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gir\u00f3n, S., Mart\u00edn-Castizo, M., and Galindo, M. (2026). Characterising the Sound Field of an Ovoid Bullring: The Real Maestranza de Caballer\u00eda, Seville. Appl. Sci., 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/app16094439"},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"(2026, June 10). It\u00e1lica. Wikipedia. Available online: https:\/\/es.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Italica."},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"33","article-title":"Panorama historiogr\u00e1fico del anfiteatro de It\u00e1lica","volume":"8","year":"2009","journal-title":"Romvla"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"127","DOI":"10.3989\/aespa.088.015.007","article-title":"Anfiteatros romanos en la B\u00e9tica: Reflexiones sobre su geometr\u00eda, dise\u00f1o y traza","volume":"88","year":"2015","journal-title":"Arch. Espa\u00f1ol Arqueol."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"\u00c1lvarez-Corbacho, A. (2014). Estudio ac\u00fastico del Teatro Romano de It\u00e1lica. [Diploma de Estudios Avanzados (DEA) Dissertation, University of Seville]."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"\u00c1lvarez-Corbacho, A., Zamarre\u00f1o, T., Galindo, M., and Gir\u00f3n, S. (2014, January 29\u201331). Virtual Acoustics of the Roman Theatre of Italica. Proceedings of the TecniAc\u00fastica, Murcia, Spain."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"(2009). Acoustics\u2014Measurement of Room Acoustic Parameters\u2014Part 1: Performance Spaces (Standard No. ISO 3382-1). Available online: https:\/\/www.iso.org\/standard\/40979.html."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Marshall Day IRIS SOFTWARE (2018) (2025, May 15). User\u2019s Manual v1.2 Marshall Day Acoustics. Available online: https:\/\/www.iris.co.nz."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"(2026, June 29). ODEON Room Acoustics Software. Technical University of Denmark. Available online: https:\/\/www.odeon.dk\/."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"EASERA (2025, October 22). Electronic and Acoustic System Evaluation and Response Analysis (EASERA) v1.1 AFMG Technologies GmbH, Germany. Available online: https:\/\/www.afmg.eu\/en\/afmg-easera."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"(2020). Sound System Equipment\u2014Part 16: Objective Rating of Speech Intelligibility by Speech Transmission Index (Standard No. EC 60268-16:2020)."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20","DOI":"10.1051\/aacus\/2023015","article-title":"A note on meaningful acoustical parameters for open-air theatres","volume":"7","author":"Rindel","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acta Acust. United Acust."},{"key":"ref_30","first-page":"205","article-title":"Ein objektives Kriterium zur Erfassung von Echost\u00f6rungen bei Musik- und Sprachdarbietungen (An objective criterion for detecting echo interference in music and speech performances)","volume":"60","author":"Dietsch","year":"1986","journal-title":"Acustica"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rossing, T.D. (2007). Acoustics in halls for speech and music. Springer Handbook of Acoustics, Springer. [1st ed.].","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-387-30425-0"},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Arau, H. (1999). ABC de la Ac\u00fastica Arquitect\u00f3nica."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"99","DOI":"10.1016\/S0003-682X(98)00075-9","article-title":"A just noticeable difference in C50 for speech","volume":"58","author":"Bradley","year":"1999","journal-title":"Appl. Acoust."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"234","DOI":"10.1121\/1.2390665","article-title":"Acoustic energy relations in Mudejar-Gothic churches","volume":"121","author":"Galindo","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Acoust. Soc. Am."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"842","DOI":"10.1121\/1.4770260","article-title":"Analysis of concert hall acoustics via visualizations of time-frequency and spatio-temporal responses","volume":"133","author":"Tervo","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Acoust. Soc. Am."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"40","DOI":"10.3813\/AAA.918586","article-title":"Acoustics of Epidaurus\u2014Studies with room acoustics modelling methods","volume":"99","author":"Lokki","year":"2013","journal-title":"Acta Acust. United Acust."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"408","DOI":"10.1121\/1.1911535","article-title":"Acoustical criteria for auditoriums and their relation to model techniques","volume":"47","author":"Jordan","year":"1970","journal-title":"J. Acoust. Soc. Am."},{"key":"ref_38","first-page":"126","article-title":"Definition and Messgrundlage eines objektiven Masses zur Ermittlung der Grenze zwischen brauchbarer and unbrauchbarer Durchsichtigkeit bei Musikdarbictung","volume":"32","author":"Reichardt","year":"1975","journal-title":"Acustica"},{"key":"ref_39","first-page":"291","article-title":"Richtungsverteilung und Zeitfolge der Schallrueckwuerfe in Raumen (Directional distribution and time sequence of sound reflection in rooms)","volume":"3","author":"Thiele","year":"1953","journal-title":"Acustica"},{"key":"ref_40","first-page":"370","article-title":"Zur Gewinnung von Eizahlkriterien bei Impulsmessungen in der Raumakustik (For obtaining criteria of impulse measurements in room acoustics)","volume":"21","year":"1969","journal-title":"Acustica"},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"Lehmann, P. (1976). \u00dcber die Ermittlung raumakustischer Kriterien und deren Zusammenhang mit subjektiven Beurteilungen der H\u00f6rsamkeit (On the Ascertainment of Room Acoustical Criteria and Correlation of the Same with Subjective Assessments of the Acoustic Overall Impression). [Doctoral Dissertation, Technische Universit\u00e4t]."},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"66","article-title":"The Modulation transfer function in room acoustics as a predictor of speech intelligibility","volume":"28","author":"Hougast","year":"1973","journal-title":"Acustica"},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"Kuttruff, H. (2009). Room Acoustics, Taylor & Francis. [5th ed.]. chapters 4 and 5."}],"container-title":["Heritage"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2571-9408\/9\/10\/408\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T10:37:03Z","timestamp":1791196623000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2571-9408\/9\/10\/408"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]},"references-count":43,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]}},"alternative-id":["heritage9100408"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/heritage9100408","relation":{},"ISSN":["2571-9408"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2571-9408","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]}}}