A Tourist in Rome - Theatre of Marcellus
Location: | 41.89196, 12.47996 On Via del Teatro di Marcello, near the Tiber River |
Metro: | Colloseo, or Circo Massimo and Bus #160, or see it on my To the Forum Boarium and Beyond Walking Tour instead |
Time: | about 30 minutes |
Cost: | Free |
Hours: | Freely visible from the road at any time of the day or night, and beautifully lit at night, but the grounds are opened during the daytime to allow a closer view |
The theatre was built mainly of tuff (1st photo below) and concrete (right half of 2nd photo below), completely sheathed in white travertine (left half of 2nd photo below, and 5th photo below). The theater was used for performances of drama and song. It was 365 feet in diameter and its capacity was 11,000 people, making it larger and more elaborate than not only Pompey's Theater but any ever built in the Roman Empire. It was three stories tall: the lowest story had arches with Doric columns between them and were used as entry/exit gates, like the Colosseum later would; the second story had arches which would have displayed statues with Ionic columns between them, like the Colosseum also does; the third story is unknown since it collapsed during the middle ages, but presumably had Corinthian columns. The Colosseum was obviously patterned after the Theatre of Marcellus, in an attempt by Vespasian to associate himself with Augustus. During the middle ages the theater was used as a fortress. The third floor was rebuilt in 1525 as a mansion, which has been turned into apartments in modern times. Up to the late 1800s the theater's ground floor was half buried by the rising ground level, but excavations have re-exposed that ground floor. Only about 1/3 of the lower two levels of the original 44 arches around the exterior curve are still visible; another 1/3 of the curve is substructure for adjoining buildings. The theater is still used for concerts and special events during the summer. The view of the theater when walking west off the Campidoglio downhill through the gardens is reputed to be quite good, but I haven't seen it from that point of view (yet). I quite liked the view from the porch part way up the Victor Emmanuel Monument, and from the top of that monument.
See also: