Pompeii palaestra seen from the top of the stadium wall. The depression center left was filled with water and used for swimming practice and mock naval battles. To the right (partially obscured by a tree trunk) is a line of carbonized tree stumps, the remains of the trees (each one hundreds of years old) of the palaestra burned in the volcanic eruption of 79. Between them and the colonnade, a line of saplings recently planted as replacement.
The palaestra was the ancient Greek wrestling school. The events that did not require a lot of space, such as boxing and wrestling, were practiced there. The palaestra functioned both independently and as a part of public gymnasia. A palaestra could exist without a gymnasium, but no gymnasium can exist without a palaestra.