Theatre of Marcellus

The Theatre of Marcellus stands in Rome’s Sant’Angelo district, a relic of the late Roman Republic. Begun by Julius Caesar and finished by Augustus in 13 BC, it was named after Augustus’s nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus. The structure measured 111 m across and once seated up to 20,000 spectators, making it Rome’s largest theatre of its time. Its semicircular seating rose in tiers of tuff and travertine, with Doric columns at the base and Ionic above. The stage backdrop framed views of the Tiber Island to the southwest. After falling out of use in the 4th century, it became a quarry, then a medieval fortress for noble families like the Orsini. Today the upper floors form part of Palazzo Orsini, while the open ground level hosts summer concerts. The Portico d’Ottavia lies nearby, linking to the Roman Ghetto and the river. The building’s surviving arches and corridors still show the scale of Roman engineering.