49. King Theodoric to the Honoured Possessores, Defensores, and Curiales of the City of Catana.

Repair of
amphitheatre
of Catana.

'It is a great delight to the Ruler when his subjects of their own accord suggest that which is for the good of the State. You have called our attention to the ruinous state of your walls, and ask leave to use for its repair the stones of the amphitheatre, which have fallen down from age and are now of no ornament to your town, in fact only show disgraceful ruins. You have not only our permission to do this, but our hearty approval. Let the stones, which can be of no use while they lie there, rise again into the fabric of the walls; and your improved defence will be our boast and confidence.'

[Some remains of the amphitheatre are still visible at Catania; not, however, so important as those of the theatre.]