A stadium in the mountains, where the stone seats still carry the names of the people who sat on them.
Amantia is an ancient hilltop city about 600 metres above the sea, the main city of the Amantes, an Illyrian people, built around 450 BC. Its walls were more than 2 km long, and its stadium still has stone seats carrying names. From Valza it is 44 km, about an hour by car. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours.
A stadium where the seats still have names
The road climbs into the hills beyond Selenicë, the villages thin out, and then, on a hill about 600 metres above the sea, you reach Amantia. This was the main city of the Amantes, an Illyrian people, built around 450 BC on an older settlement and placed to watch the route between the Vjosa valley and the Bay of Vlorë. Its port was Oricum. Its walls, more than 2 km long, were raised before the end of the 4th century BC.
Amantia was proud of its independence. From about 230 BC it minted its own bronze coins, and changed their legend from “of the Epirotes” to “of the Amantes”. Archaeologists have found a temple of Aphrodite, monumental tombs and an early Christian basilica, and a bishop of Amantia, Eulalius, probably attended the Council of Serdica in the 4th century.
But the place that stops everyone is the stadium. It lies on a natural terrace just east of the city, with 17 rows of stone seats cut into the hillside and 8 on the other side. Walk along them and look closely: some seats still carry names, of officials and of ordinary citizens such as Socrates and Apollonios. More than two thousand years later, you can sit where they sat and look at the same hills.
The site is open-air, so bring water and a hat.
What you’ll see
The walls and the gate
Walls more than 2 km long, and a stone arch with the mountains beyond.
-
The stadium
Seventeen rows of stone seats cut into the hillside, and 8 on the other side, on a natural terrace just east of the city.
-
The names on the seats
Some seats still carry names, of officials and of ordinary citizens such as Socrates and Apollonios.
-
What the archaeologists found
A temple of Aphrodite, monumental tombs and an early Christian basilica.
Amantia in four dates
- Around 450 BC
The city is built on an older settlement, to watch the route between the Vjosa valley and the Bay of Vlorë.
- Before the end of the 4th century BC
The walls, more than 2 km long, are raised.
- From about 230 BC
Amantia mints its own bronze coins, changing the legend from “of the Epirotes” to “of the Amantes”.
- 4th century
A bishop of Amantia, Eulalius, probably attends the Council of Serdica.
Amantia in numbers
-
600 metres
Above the sea, on its hilltop
-
2 km
And more: the length of its walls
-
17 + 8 rows
Of stone seats in the stadium
-
44 km
From Valza, about an hour
Where it is
In the hills beyond Selenicë, on a hill about 600 metres above the sea, placed to watch the route between the Vjosa valley and the Bay of Vlorë.
What to bring
- Water: the site is open-air
- Sun hat: the site is open-air
- Sun cream: for 1.5 to 2 hours on a hilltop
- Sturdy shoes: stone seats cut into the hillside
- Camera: the carved names on the seats and the city gate
- Snack: about an hour’s drive each way
- Offline map: the villages thin out on the climb
Is it worth it?
Yes, if…
you want to sit on seats that carry the names of the people who sat there more than two thousand years ago, and to see an Illyrian city in the hills.
Maybe not, if…
you would rather not spend an hour in the car: Amantia is 44 km from Valza, about an hour by car, and the site is open-air.
Bring water and a hat, and check current prices and road conditions before you go.
Combine it with
Continue exploring
More places and ideas for your days around Vlorë:
- Byllis in a day: the Illyrian city above the Vjosa
- All attractions around Vlorë
- Archaeological sites in Vlorë: Amantia, Orikum, Kanina and ancient Aulona
- Vlorë in autumn: a 3-day itinerary from Orikum to Labëria
- Where to stay in Vlorë: our complete guide
