Brixia (Brescia)

BRIXIA (Brescia), ancient Regio X, modern Italy.

COORDINATES: 45º32’23.79’’N // 10º13’35.67’’E-

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.
DATE: First III A.D.
TRANSFORMATIONS:
CAPACITY:
CAVEA: Facing south. Built against hillside. 86 m. diameter including outer wall that not complete the semicircle.
ORCHESTRA: 24 m. diameter.
STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium 1,25 m. high. There´s aulaeum remains (10 holes). Pulpitum 49 x 9,3 including proscaenium wall. Scaenae frons had three doors enclosed in niches with curved sides and flat backs.
LOCATION: Close to Capitilium and Foro.
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. // “Teatri antichi nell’area del Mediterraneo”. Palermo, I Quaderni di Palazzo Montalbo, 2004.

OUT OF PRINT: I found Brescia´s Roman theatre in silence, an early Sunday morning, nobody in the streets, only a whisper cradling the big theatre ruin that made me remembered Giussepe Ungaretti´s verses: “The sun kidnaps the city / it doesn´t look yet / even the tombs do not resist much”

Corinth (Corinto)

CORINTH (Corinto), ancient Corintia, modern Greece.

COORDINATES: 37º54’21.36’’N // 22º52’38.26’’E

TIPOLOGY: Greco-roman odeon.

DATE: Last I A.D.

TRANSFORMATIONS: It was restored by Herod Atticus in 175 A.D. Last III it was transformed in arena

CAPACITY: 3.000 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing north. 63 m. diameter. Maenianum: Ima cavea with 13 rows of seats in 4 cunei; Summa cavea with 13 rows of seat too in unknown cunei. Carved on slope, first steps carved on rock.

ORCHESTRA: 17, 2 m. diameter.

STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium 1,2 m. high. Pulpitum 26,7 x 8,2 m. Sacenae frons 30,3 m. long, it was rectilinear. Aditus maximi 2,8 m. wide.

LOCATION: Close to the theatre, west of Apolo´s 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.

OUT OF PRINT: From Corinth´s ancient odeon you can see one of the most mysterious and enigmatic places of antiquity, the Acrocorinth hill, the place of the sacred whores.

Palaia Epidauros (Palaia Epidauros)

PALAIA EPIDAUROS (Palaia Epidauros), ancient Argolida, modern Greece.

COORDINATES: 37º38’00.07’’N // 23º09’36.62’’E

TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Urban.
DATE: Mid IV B.C.
TRANSFORMATIONS: Hellenic proscaenium. Roman transformations. Theatre was abandoned in IV A.D.
CAPACITY: 3.000 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing south-west. 55,6 m. diameter. Maenianum: Ima cavea with 18 rows of seats in 9 cunei. Probably had a summa cavea. The cavea is asymmetric, the wings are cut.
ORCHESTRA: 18,9 m. diameter. A little roman shrine preserved.
STAGE BUILDING: it was digged in 2008.
LOCATION: Palaia Epidauros ancient theatre is 14 klm. east from ancient Epidauros, inside a modern urbanization in Neo Epidauros village.
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: The theatre was dedicated to Dyonisos, the post is dedicated to him, of course it´s a pleasure stage for him that corner of the world. Mountain, the sea, a greek Amstel and readinh Elytis´Dignum Est.

Thamugadi (Timgad)

THAMUGADI, (Timgad), ancient Numidia, modern Algeria.

COORDINATES: 32º29’02.99’’N // 6º28’08.21’’E

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.

DATE: Half II A.D.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY: 3.500 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing west. 63,6 m. diameter. Maenianum: Ima cavea with 8 rows of seats in 6 cunei. Media cavea with 12 rows of seats in 6 cunei. Summa cavea with more than 6 rows of seats in unknown number of cunei. Porticus in summa cavea remains.

ORCHESTRA: 21 m. diameter. 19 m., without balteus, and 15 m. without subsellia. Subsellia with three steps. It is paved in stone.

STAGE BUILDING: Pulpitum was 30,4 x 6,8 m. 1,27 m. high. Proscaenium with 3 curved and 2 rectangular niches. 12 square slots for aulaeum masts.

LOCATION: Thamugadi ancient city is 35 klm. east from modern Batna.

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. // Lancel, Serge; “L’Algérie antique”. Paris, Mengès, 2003. // Blas de Roblès, Jean Marie; Sintes, Claude; “Sites et monuments antiques de l’Algérie”. Aix-en-Provence, Édisud, 2003.

OUT OF PRINT: I visited Thamugadi in 2010, an evening in winter. Thamugadi was a military roman city, the layout of its streets is totally square and the remains are in an excellent condition. It´s small theatre is really wonderful, I was lucky of laying off the day from their steps. I slept that night in Batna, a big and modern city, 35 klm. west from Thamugadi; when I arrived to the city nobody were in the streets, a big silence had seized the city, suddenly I listened: “Goooollllll”, Algerian national football team had scored Mali in Africa Cup, that meant that Algeria, not losing its last match, could still qualify for the next round. At night, when the match was finished, everybody in Batna, thousands of people, went out to the streets, shouting and celebrating the victory in a way I never had seen, like if they were won the World championship. Algerian passion, something more that I love from these absolutely marvelous country.

Augusta Praetoria (Aosta)

AUGUSTA PRAETORIA (Aosta), ancient Regio XI, modern Italy.

 

COORDINATES: 45º44’18.83’’N // 7º19’20.42’’E

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre.

DATE: First I A.D.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY: 4.000 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing Nort-Northwest. 59,6 m. diameter. It´s not known how was exactly the maenianum, buy rows in ima were divided in 3 cunei.

ORCHESTRA: 18,8 m diameter including bisellia (12,7 m.)

STAGE BUILDING: The scaenae frons is very well preserved, one of the best in the ancient world; it´s rectilinear and had two storeys. Proscaenium with 3 curved and 2 rectangular niches; there’s aulaeum remains. Pulpitum was 45,5x6,9 m.-8,45 including proscaenium-.

LOCATION: The ancient theatre is in Aosta old town. 120 klm. north from Torino.

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. // 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. // Izenour, George. Roofed Theaters of Classical Antiquity. Yale University Press, 1992. // “Teatri antichi nell’area del Mediterraneo”. Palermo, I Quaderni di Palazzo Montalbo, 2004.

OUT OF PRINT: A journey to the Alps, not for climbing mounts or ski. Like Anibal crossing the Alps, but not in an elephant, the Spanish king do not let live them, in a Fiat, from Switzerland to Italy, the roman steps dyed white.