Lugdunum (Lyon)

LUGDUNUM (Lyon), ancient Gallia Lugdunensis, modern France.

COORDINATES: 45º45’31.24’’N // 4º49’11.20”E
TIPOLOGY : Roman odeon. Urban.
DATE: Mid- II A.D.
TRANSFORMATIONS:
CAPACITY: 4.000 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing east. 75 m. diameter. Maenianum: Ima cavea with 16 rows of seats in 4 cunei –two of them very smalls-; Summa cavea with 5 rows in 5 cunei.
ORCHESTRA: 21 m. diameter,, including bisellia. There are remains of original marble floor.
STAGE BUILDING: Scaenae frons was rectilinear, it had a big porticus post scaenam.
LOCATION: Close to the roman theatre.
MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Landes, Christian (Ed.); “Le gout du theatre a Rome et en Gaule romaine”. Musée de Lattes, 1989. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995. //  De Leseleuc, Anne; “La Gaule. Architecture et civilisation”. Paris, Flammarion, 2001. // Knight, Jeremy; “Roman France. An archaeological field guide”. Gloucestershire, Tempus, 2001.

 OUT OF PRINT: In the upper part of Lyon, in the upper cavea of the ancient odeon, eating a croissant who had just been born, the heat in the hand, the cold in the face, the eyes in the frog waiting for the rain to made bright the marble colour pieces of that wonderful orchestra.

Ferentinum (Ferentino)

FERENTINUM (Ferentino), ancient Regio I –Latium-, modern Italy.

COORDINATES: 41º41’26.15’’N // 13º15’12.90’’E

TIPOLOGY : Roman theatre. Urban.
DATE: First II A.D.
TRANSFORMATIONS:
CAPACITY: 
CAVEA: Facing south-west. 54 m. diameter. There are some remains from east part of the cavea. It was built in a hillside although summa was supported on radial walls. Modern buildings cover the remains. Ima and Summa had four cunei.
ORCHESTRA: 16 m. diameter.
STAGE BUILDING: In Scaenae Frons the regia was in a curved niche, while hospitalia was in rectangular niches. Pulpitum was 30 x 6,5 m.
LOCATION: The ancient theatre is close to porta Sanguinaria, in modern Ferentinum, 65 klm. South-east of Rome.
MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Tosi, Giovana; “Gli edificio per spettacoli nell’Italia romana”. Roma, Quasar, 2003. // Courtois, Catherine; “Le bâtiment de scène des théâtres d’Italie et de Sicile”. Providence, Louvain-la.Neuve, 1989. // Maggi, Stefano; Troso, Cristina. “Guida all’Italia archeologica”. Casale Monferrato, Piemme, 2007. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995.

OUT OF PRINT: I arrived Ferentino when the evening summer shadows started to gobble the theatre remains; it was like if the evening deploy a sheet in the stones. I would like to have gone into some of the houses that were built over the upper part of the theatre, to watch from some window another perspective of the theatre; I did not dare to call any ring, I did not try it... that is surprise because in ancient theatre questions I am able of arriving the moon... anyway, if I return some day to Italy I will back to Ferentino, I will go into some house, I will ring, for looking to the theatre... and I will try that will be early in the morning, for removing the sheets of the night to the theatre for giving it good morning.

Urso (Osuna)

URSO (Osuna), ancient Baetica, modern Spain

COORDINATES: 37º14’19.87’’N // 5º05’44.30’’W

TIPOLOGY : Roman theatre. Not urban.

DATE: 

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY:

CAVEA: Facing east. At least 50 m. diameter. Maenianum. Three maeniana; six rows of seats survives from media cavea. Ima cavea is covered. Summa rested on masonery wall, maybe it had wooden steps.

ORCHESTRA: It has not been excavated. About 20 m. diameter

STAGE BUILDING: Some Corinthian capitals survived.

LOCATION: Theatre was outside ancient city walls. Now the building is East of modern Osuna, in a private property.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato. // http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/cultura/rutasteatro/es/01_TR_42.html

 

OUT OF PRINT: I have been visiting Osuna´s roman theatre these week. Alfredo Cruz, the owner of the property where the theatre is, showed me the remains and told me all he knows about it. He talked with passion about the incredible acoustic the theatre still have, surprising if we know that the theatre is covered and the visible remains are only some partial six rows of seats. He talked me about a flamenco concert that some friends of him did in a summer night and how they felt the wonderful acoustic... listening to him I felt the ancient theatre alive, like a big and ancient body asleep, waiting to be awakened... and i felt  jealous, who would not want to have a private roman theatre in his garden? Thanks Alfredo for all your kidness, all the best for you.

Byblos (Jbaïl)

BYBLOS (Jbaïl), ancient Siria, modern Lebanon.

COORDINATES: 34º07’09.59” N  / 35º38’42.07” E

TIPOLOGY : Greek theatre. Urban.

DATE: III A.D..

TRANSFORMATIONS: In modern times it was removed from its original location in order to reach earlier levels, originally it was built between the City Gate, the “L” temple and the Obelisque temple.

CAPACITY: 

CAVEA: Facing west. Diameter unknow, probably about 48 m. Ima cavea: It had 30 rows of seat but only 7 are preserved in 7 cunei.

ORCHESTRA: 11,6 m. diameter. It was paved with a mosaic of Bacchus, now in National Museum of Beirut. An altar was found in the orchestra.

STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium is unique for the decoration of the five niches, they represent pediments supported by small columns with Corinthian capitails.

LOCATION: 100 m. west of crusader castle. Jbaïl is 35 klm. north of Beirut.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995. // Blas de Roblès, Jean Marie; Pieri, Dominique; Yon, Jean-Baptiste; “Vestiges archéologiques du Liban”. Aix-en-Provence, Édisud – Librairie Antoine, 2004.

OUT OF PRINT: I traveled to Lebanon for playing theatre there. But I did not play in an ancient scenario like Byblos one or like the moderns theatres in Beirut. I played theatre in the streets, in small streets with cars and with not squares, in dirty paths... I traveled to Lebanon with Clowns Without Borders in 2009, I played in Palestinian Refugee Camps, trying to turn toy guns in smiles, trying to distract children from their harsh reality. The auditorium in Byblos is covered by sand... and the silence of the sea... in Refugee Camps there is another kind of sand... not places for playing theatre, there is not places for children to play, all the life is in street, all is the street sand... never in my life my work, acting, had as much meaning as when I fight acting with the sand of the streets in the Refugee Camps, when in the meddle of the barbarism I learned that laughter is truly a world heritage place.

Nikaia (Klos)

NIKAIA (Klos), ancient Illyria / Macedonia, modern Albania.

COORDINATES: 40º31’40.10” N / 19º45’22.93” E

TIPOLOGY : Greek theatre. Urban.

DATE: III B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY: 800 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing north-west. 53 m. diameter. Built n natural hill, sustained by two analemma. It survives the bedrock that supported the seats. Cavea had 17 rows of seats. 14 inscriptions into wall of parodos have been found.

ORCHESTRA: Proedria is well preserved.

STAGE BUILDING: Foundations remains in bedrock.

LOCATION: In a hill, 200 m. from modern village Klos. Nikaia is very close to Byllis –in a hill side two kilometres-, although bad roads make tourtous the travel and spent more than one hour in arrivieng the place. Nikaia is 50 klm from Vlöre.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995. // Cabanes, Pierre (Ed.); “Carte Archéologique de l’Albanie”. Tirana, Klosi & Benzenberg, 2008. // Ceka, Neritan; “The Illyrians to the Albanians”. Tirana, Migjeni, 2005.

OUT OF PRINT: My travel from Vlöra to Byllis and Nikaia ancient cities was a great adventure. It took me all the day to visit them. These ancient cities are 50 klm. east from Vlöre, but arrive them was a big toutous journey. I think these roads, paths in fact, have been the worst of all my life, through Albanian mountains with hundreds of small and outdated oil wells that gave the travel a fantastic Mad Max touch. A travel that takes less than 50 klm. took me over four hours, dodging potholes and asking the little people I met on the road about what was the right direction. Albanian people is wonderful, always willing to help with a great brotherhood. Close to Nikaia even a family kidnapped me and invited me to coffe... i was surrounded by all the family leaving smiles and gestures to communicate and talk... I could feel then that life is less complicated than we do, watching the hapiness of that family and looking the beauty of their eyes. When I was yet 4 klm. from Nikaia I had to left the car, the path was so bad that I was afraid of damage the rental car, I belived that road was a devil road even for a rally driver. I started up the hill and for my surprise I saw going down a couple of Mercedes from 70´s with no problem, as if them were floating on the road... I thought I was hallucinating, something that not surprised me because the heat was excessive. When finally I arrived to the ancient theatre I felt comforted with my breathing... there was not play, in fact  from 20 centuries ago there is not plays in Nikaia´s ancient theatre, only the simphony of the mountains, only the play of the look that lost the steeps in the infinity view. Nikaia... one place with not words... one place for breath.