音频游览 4_THE ROMAN THEATRE_en

A monumental entertainment building stood in Roman times on the side of the hill of San Donato which goes down towards the so-called area of Colcitrone, also known as “Porta Crucifera”. A large thermal complex was connected to it.

Built in the first century A.D. during a period of great prosperity for Arezzo, the theater had a diameter of at least 90 meters and was visible from the city and the surrounding area. Today only a small part remains: in fact, only the base of the structure that supported the terraces for the spectators is preserved. Well recognizable by its curvilinear shape, it is built with a type of concrete (opus caementicium) composed of stones mixed with mortar and covered in stone blocks (opus reticulatum or incertum).

Still visible during the Middle Ages, partly incorporated into the defense structures of the upper part of the city, the theater was further destroyed during the sixteenth century following the construction of the Medici Fortress.

The description of the excavations conducted in the nineteenth century, however, provides us with valuable information: the investigations brought to light part of the orchestra, the space closest to the stage that in Roman times was occupied by the seats of the most illustrious citizens, originally paved with precious materials, and part of the brick structure that constituted a sort of backdrop (frons scenae) beyond the stage. It too was covered with colored marbles and decorated with terracotta elements.

A cistern and some heated rooms were also identified, part of a thermal complex close and connected to the theatre building, according to a "theater-thermae" association very frequent in Roman times.

To this great thermal building must have belonged the mosaic with Neptune on a chariot pulled by sea horses, now exhibithed in the Archaeological Museum "G.C. Mecenate" of Arezzo.