Pliny the Elder writes that Caesar the Dictator stretched awnings over the whole Roman Forum and over the Sacred Way, from his own house up to the Capitol, and that the spectacle was judged more wondrous than the gladiatorial combats themselves

Pliny the Elder writes that Caesar the Dictator stretched awnings over the whole Roman Forum and over the Sacred Way, from his own house up to the Capitol, and that the spectacle was judged more wondrous than the gladiatorial combats themselves. Fabric awnings against the sun, vela in Latin, were stretched on masts and cables.

Mostly, of course, in amphitheatres, although awnings were rigged even before stone theatres were built, when the games were held in the Forum itself. Over the Colosseum there was a gigantic velarium of linen or hemp canvas, fixed to 240 masts along the cornice and unfurled by a system of ropes. The awning covered the spectators' tiers, while the centre of the arena stayed open to the sky.

When games were advertised at Pompeii, the graffiti took care to state "vela erunt", that is, "there will be awnings": you will be able to sit in the shade, do come.