Elis (Ilida)

ELIS (Ilida), ancient Eleia / Acaya, modern Greece.

COORDENATES: 37º53’36.65’’N // 21º22’32.33’’E

TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Urban.

DATE: First half IV B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY: 8.000 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing north-west. 104 m. diameter. Cavea exceeds semicircle. Built on natural slope. Rows of earth terraces in steps, divided into 7 cunei; later stones steps placed on top of ramps. Paradoi remains well preserved.

ORCHESTRA: 21 m. diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium supported by Ionic columns. Stage was 22x2,8 m. The scene building was 22 m. long but with wings at sides, ramps, 46 m.

LOCATION: Ancient theatre is north of agora, close to Dionysos temple.

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. // Mee, Christopher; Spawforth, Anthony; “Greece. Oxford archeological guides”. Oxford University Press, 2001. // Arias, Paolo Enrico; “Il teatro greco fuori di Atene”. Firenze, G.C. Sansoni, 1934.

 

 

OUT OF PRINT: When I visited Elis ancient theatre there were scholars and archeologists working on it... it was like a group of Childs making a castle in the sand... that seems to be Elis one, a theatre of sand.

Arretium (Castelsecco / Arezzo)

ARRETIUM (Castelsecco / San Cornelio / Arezzo), ancient Regio VII, modern Italy.

COORDINATES: 43º26’40.98’’N // 11º54’00.93’’E

TIPOLOGY: Roman cultic theatre. Not urban.

DATE: II B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY:

CAVEA: facing south-west, 45 m. diameter. There are remains of 4 lowest rows of seats, now covered.

ORCHESTRA: 12,5 m. diameter, paved in stone slabs.

STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium was rectilinear, also the scaenae frons. Pulpitum was 18 x 6,5 m.

LOCATION: The theatre is connected with temple, 105 m. away, in the hill of Castelsecco, san Cornelio, 4 klm. south from modern Arezzo.

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: When I visited the place I was not sure that the theatre were there, I was not sure I was in the right place... but it was, I could check it months later, checking some plans.

Kaunos (Dalyan)

KAUNOS (Dalyan), ancient Caria / Asia Minor, modern Turkey.

COORDINATES: 36º49’31.41’’N // 28º37’23.57’’E

TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Urban.

DATE: II B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS: scene building I B.C., rebuilt in roman times in II A.D.

CAPACITY: 5.500 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing south-west. Built against hillside. 73 m. diameter, exceeds semicircle; Maenianum: Ima cavea with 18 rows of seats in 9 cunei; Summa cavea with 15 rows in 9 cunei. Top rows in ima and summa with continuous stone-back rest.

ORCHESTRA: 21 m. diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: Hellenistic proscaenium remains with 16 Doric columns.  

LOCATION: Near foot of acropolis hill. 2 klm. south-west from modern Dalyan, crossing the river.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Yilmaz, Yasar; “Anadolu Antik Tiyatrolari”. Istanbul, Yem Yanin, 2010. // Bean, George; “Turkey beyond the Maeander”. London, Ernst Benn, 1971.// 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: After tasting the silence of ancient Kaunos an old woman, dressed severly in black, crossed me to the other side, in her small boat, to Dalyan. She was about 80 years old, paddled slowly, slowly, slowly as you have to savor Kaunos. From the river I could hear the call to pray, and something in my chest was recorded in fire for ever... I was the protagonist of a film by Angelopoulos.

Chaeronea (Heronia)

CHAERONEA (Heronia), ancient Beotia, modern Greece.

 

COORDINATES: 38º29’34.79’’N // 22º50’24.56’’E

TIPOLOGY: Archaic Greek theatre. Urban.

DATE: Late V B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS: Curved cavea from IV B.C. Some transformations from Roman times.

CAVEA: Facing north.Rock cut.  Earlier cavea 30 m. diameter, with 5 rows of seats, separated by podium from 3 rows of seats. Later cavea, shallow irregular curve, 37 m. diameter, with 10 rows of seats in 2 cunei, separated from 4 rows by rock cut wall.

ORCHESTRA:

STAGE BUILDING: Ther´s not remains.

LOCAION: At the foot of north summit of Mt. Petrachos, in modern Heronia, 50 klm. east from Delphi.

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. // Arias, Paolo Enrico; “Il teatro greco fuori di Atene”. Firenze, G.C. Sansoni, 1934.

 

 

OUT OF PRINT:

"This landscape is hard as silence

tightens in his breast his fiery stones

tightens to light their orphans olive groves and vineyards

tightens the jaws. No water. Only light."

                        -Yannis Ritsos-

 

Acinipo (Ronda la Vieja)

ACINIPO (Ronda la Vieja), ancient Baetica, modern Hispania.

 

COORDINATES: 36º49’54.61’’N // 5º14’25.79’’W

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.

DATE: Half I B.C.

TRANSFORMATIONS: Scene building last I B.C. or first I A.D.

CAPACITY: 3.000 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing east. 62 m. diameter. Maenianum: Ima cavea with 14 rows of seats in 6 cunei. Summa cavea with 4 rows in 4 cunei. Cut into rock.

ORCHESTRA: 21 m. diameter, paved in stone, there are pink marble remains, surrounded by wall. One step for bisellia.

STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium with 3 curved and 2 rectilinear niches; there are aulaeum remains, with 6 mast holes. Pulpitum was 29,4 x 7,9 m. The scaenae frons, very well preserved, is rectilinear, with two storeys. Postscaenium with 4 rectangular rooms.

LOCATION: West side of ancient town.Acinipo is 18 klm. north-east from Ronda.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: “Teatros romanos de Hispania” Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, 1993 // 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:

“A cloud in the sky

drives to the light...
                        -Where?
No one must ask
                        (Time
tresh love
all the dream of the heart)”

-Emilio Prados-