Research: The Audience of Roman Amphitheaters: Hierarchization, Communication, and Reception of Spectacles through a Multidisciplinary and Comparative Study
Fabio Mancuso is a PhD candidate in Ancient History at Université Bordeaux Montaigne, in joint supervision with Sapienza University of Rome. He obtained both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Sapienza University of Rome. His Bachelor’s thesis focused on gladiatorial graffiti in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, while his Master’s thesis contributed to Volume X of the series Epigrafia anfiteatrale dell’Occidente romano, currently in press, dedicated to Pompeii. His doctoral research focuses on the audience of Roman amphitheatres, investigated through a multidisciplinary approach integrating literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence. Since his undergraduate studies, his research has centred on amphitheatrical epigraphy, with particular attention to gladiatorial graffiti, for which he has carried out the systematic cataloguing and analysis of the Pompeian, Italic, and Gallic corpora. His work aims to explore the perception and reception of munera gladiatoria by ancient spectators. Since 2026, he has been a member of the scientific committee of the Archaeological Park of Chartres, contributing to the study of recently discovered gladiatorial graffiti.