Description
The Roman Theater of Verona is an open-air theater from the 1st century BC, at the foot of Colle San Pietro, on the left bank of the Adige. It is one of the best preserved in northern Italy, and in summer it becomes a real theater again, with the tiers full of spectators.
For centuries nobody knew it was there. In the Middle Ages it had fallen into ruin and a whole neighborhood had grown over it: houses rested directly on the Roman substructures, the old entrances and stairs were still in use, and the cavea was farmed, making use of the slope.
And yet it had been a grand project. At the end of the 1st century BC the Romans built it as a great urban scene on several levels: the theater on the river, three terraces above the cavea and, perhaps, a temple at the top of the hill. The whole Roman city, recently risen on the other bank of the river, could see it.
It was brought back to light by a rich merchant passionate about archaeology, Andrea Monga. He bought the whole area and between 1834 and 1844 had about thirty houses torn down, uncovering great staircases, tiers and terraces. The city continued the work from 1904, until the whole cavea was restored.
Today you can see the cavea, 105 meters wide, which leans largely against the hill, and its tiers.
Opposite are the remains of the stage building, 71 meters long, with the three large niches of the stage front that framed the three doors of the stage. After the excavations, the ten arches of the loggia that closed off the cavea were put back together.
Above the cavea there were three terraces, 123 meters wide. The middle one has five niches with half-columns; the last has a single niche with Tuscan half-columns. Higher up, where Castel San Pietro stands today, was the temple: traces of it were found in the 19th century.
Since 1948 spectators have returned to the tiers for the Verona Theater Summer, with a clear predominance of plays by Shakespeare and Goldoni, and with dance and jazz. On the eastern wing of the cavea there is also the little church of Santi Siro e Libera, built over the tiers: inside are 14th-century paintings.
The theater is part of the same complex as the Archaeological Museum, in the former convent on the hill.
As early as the 16th century Giovanni Caroto and Andrea Palladio drew its reconstruction, with a few inaccuracies. The latest excavations, between 1970 and 1971, found a gallery under the proscenium.
For centuries nobody knew it was there. In the Middle Ages it had fallen into ruin and a whole neighborhood had grown over it: houses rested directly on the Roman substructures, the old entrances and stairs were still in use, and the cavea was farmed, making use of the slope.
And yet it had been a grand project. At the end of the 1st century BC the Romans built it as a great urban scene on several levels: the theater on the river, three terraces above the cavea and, perhaps, a temple at the top of the hill. The whole Roman city, recently risen on the other bank of the river, could see it.
It was brought back to light by a rich merchant passionate about archaeology, Andrea Monga. He bought the whole area and between 1834 and 1844 had about thirty houses torn down, uncovering great staircases, tiers and terraces. The city continued the work from 1904, until the whole cavea was restored.
Today you can see the cavea, 105 meters wide, which leans largely against the hill, and its tiers.
Opposite are the remains of the stage building, 71 meters long, with the three large niches of the stage front that framed the three doors of the stage. After the excavations, the ten arches of the loggia that closed off the cavea were put back together.
Above the cavea there were three terraces, 123 meters wide. The middle one has five niches with half-columns; the last has a single niche with Tuscan half-columns. Higher up, where Castel San Pietro stands today, was the temple: traces of it were found in the 19th century.
Since 1948 spectators have returned to the tiers for the Verona Theater Summer, with a clear predominance of plays by Shakespeare and Goldoni, and with dance and jazz. On the eastern wing of the cavea there is also the little church of Santi Siro e Libera, built over the tiers: inside are 14th-century paintings.
The theater is part of the same complex as the Archaeological Museum, in the former convent on the hill.
As early as the 16th century Giovanni Caroto and Andrea Palladio drew its reconstruction, with a few inaccuracies. The latest excavations, between 1970 and 1971, found a gallery under the proscenium.