Thebae Phthiotides (Mikrothives)

THEBAE PHTHIOTIDES (Mikrothives), ancient Thessaly, modern Greece.

COORDINATES: 39º16’18.23’’N // 22º45’59.07’’E

TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Urban.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY:

CAVEA: Facing east. About 32 m. diameter. 11 rows of seats visible, in 7? cunei.Parts of outer wall are visible.

ORCHESTRA: About 10 m. diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: Parts of the stage building are visible, have been excavated and protected with a roof.

LOCATION: The ancient greek theate is 1,5 klm. north-east from modern Mikrothives, 20 klm. south-west from Volos.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE:

OUT OF PRINT: Always, when you leave the travel takes your steeps, it will rewarded you with the biggest surprise. I knew that there were notices about an ancient theatre in a place called Thebae Phthiotides, but I did not know well the place it was and thought it was not excavated yet, so I supposed it was only a literary notice. When I was driving from Demetrias ancient theatre, near Volos, to Delphi, I suddenly see, like a miracle, a sign on a dirt road adjacent to the main road that said “to the ancient theatre”...!!!! Oh my Gods , you put that sign for me... I take that road, left  the car and started very excited to the theatre place... sometimes the journey hides unimaginable secrets!!!!

Bracara Augusta (Braga)

BRACARA AUGUSTA (Braga), ancient Tarraconensis, modern Portugal.

COORDINATES: 41º32’48.03’’N // 8º25’48.79’’W

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.

DATE: II A.D.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY:

CAVEA: Facing West. 68,6 m. diameter. Partially rest on natural slope. It had a porticus in summa cavea -3 m. wide-

ORCHESTRA: Balteus remains, aditus too -2,4m. wide-

STAGE BUILDING: Pulpitum was 1,4 m. high and 6,7 m. wide. Scaenae frons visible remains.

LOCATION: The theatre is west of modern city.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Martins, Manuela; Ribeiro, Jorge; Magalhâes, Fernanda; “A arqueologia urbana em Braga e a descoberta do teatro romano de Bracara Augusta”. Universidad do Minho, Forum nº 40, 2006.

OUT OF PRINT: A marvelous memory, a slow walk in Braga and Guimaraes, with sweet words, bacalao a brâs and albariños´s wine... close to the land were in roman times there was the land´s end.

Cassope (Kamarina)

CASSOPE (Kamarina), ancient Epiro, modern Greece.

COORDINATES: 39º08’48.28’’N // 20º40’18.90’’E

TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Urban.

DATE: First III B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY: 6.000 spectators.

CAVEA: 81 m. diameter. Facing south east. Rest on natural slope. Two maeniana; ima cavea with 23 rows of seats in 10 cunei; summa with 12 rows in 10 cunei.

ORCHESTRA: Horse shape. 18 m. diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: 8 m. depth.

LOCATION: In the north-west of the ancient city. 2 klm. north from modern Kamarina, 45 klm. west from Arta.

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.

OUT OF PRINT: “In the beginning the light and the first hour in which the lips, still in the mud, taste the things of the world”... words by Odysseas Elytis, a Greek poet; in the begining of the day I found the big one theatre of Cassope.

Bauli (Bacoli)

BAULI (Bacoli), ancient Regio I, modern Italy.

COORDINATES: 40º48’10.28’’N // 14º04’52.74’’ E

TIPOLOGY: Private roman theatre. Not urban.
DATE: First half I A.D.
TRANSFORMATIONS:
CAPACITY:
CAVEA: 31,5 m. diameter. Facing east. Maenianum was formed by two maeniana.  4 rows of seats preserved in ima cavea.
ORCHESTRA: Pentagonal form, 9 m. diameter.
STAGE BUILDING:
LOCATION: The ancient remains are known like Agripina´s tomb. It is 25 klm. south-east from Napoli.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Tosi, Giovana; “Gli edificio per spettacoli nell’Italia romana”. Roma, Quasar, 2003. // 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: From the ancient theatre of Baia to the ancient odeon remains of Bacoli are 3 klm. away, an a long eternity if you are driving a July Sunday morning, full of Naples young people in search of sun, sea and sand, a very long eternity that can take you more that one and a half hour.