Theatre of Marcellus

Last updated
Theatre of Marcellus
Teatro di Marcello intero.jpg
View from Via Montanara
Roma PlanFXD.jpg
Roma Plan.jpg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Theatre of Marcellus
Shown within Augustan Rome
Theatre of Marcellus
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location Regio IX Circus Flaminius
Coordinates 41°53′30.88″N12°28′46.13″E / 41.8919111°N 12.4794806°E / 41.8919111; 12.4794806
Type Roman theatre (structure)
History
Builder Julius Caesar Augustus Caesar / Marcus Marcellus
Founded13 BC

The Theatre of Marcellus (Latin : Theatrum Marcelli, Italian : Teatro di Marcello) is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances of drama and song. Today its ancient edifice in the rione of Sant'Angelo, Rome, once again provides one of the city's many popular spectacles or tourist sites.

Contents

Construction and Roman period use

Space for the theatre was cleared by Julius Caesar, who was murdered before its construction could begin; the theatre was advanced enough by 17 BC that part of the celebration of the ludi saeculares took place within the theatre; it was completed in 13 BC and formally inaugurated in 12 BC by Augustus, [1] named after his nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus who had died in 23 BC.

A detail of Gismondi's scale model of ancient Rome at the Museum of Roman Civilization, showing the Theatre of Marcellus between the Circus Flaminius and the Forum Olitorium, the Roman vegetable market. The bridge connecting it to Tiber Island is the Pons Fabricius. SoutherCircusFlaminiusInRomeByGismondi.jpg
A detail of Gismondi's scale model of ancient Rome at the Museum of Roman Civilization, showing the Theatre of Marcellus between the Circus Flaminius and the Forum Olitorium, the Roman vegetable market. The bridge connecting it to Tiber Island is the Pons Fabricius.

The theatre was 111 m in diameter and was the largest and most important theatre in Ancient Rome; [2] it could originally hold between 11,000 and 20,000 spectators. [1] [2] A catalogue compiled at the end of the 4th century recorded that the theatre's seating capacity was 17,580 persons. [3] It was an impressive example of what was to become one of the most pervasive urban architectural forms of the Roman world. The theatre was built mainly of tuff, and concrete faced with stones in the pattern known as opus reticulatum , completely sheathed in white travertine. However, it is also the earliest dateable building in Rome to make use of fired Roman brick, then a new introduction from the Greek world. [4]

The network of arches, corridors, tunnels and ramps that gave access to the interiors of such Roman theatres were normally ornamented with a screen of engaged columns in Greek orders: Doric at the base, Ionic in the middle. It is believed that Corinthian columns were used for the upper level but this is uncertain as the theatre was reconstructed in the Middle Ages, removing the top tier of seating and the columns. [1]

Like other Roman theatres in suitable locations, it had openings through which the natural setting could be seen, in this case the Tiber Island to the southwest. The permanent setting, the scaena, also rose to the top of the cavea as in other Roman theatres.

End section, showing later redevelopment 923RomaTeatroMarcello.JPG
End section, showing later redevelopment

Later use

The theatre fell out of use in the early 4th century and the structure served as a quarry, e.g., for the Pons Cestius in 370 AD. However, the statues located inside the building were restored by Petronius Maximus in 421 and the remaining structure still housed small residential buildings. In the Early Middle Ages the theatre was used as a fortress of the Roman family of Faffo or Fabi (called "from Pescheria") and then at the end of the 11th century (when it was known as templum Marcelli), by Pier Leoni and later his heirs (the Pierleoni). This saved the complex from further destruction. The Savelli held it in the 13th century. Later, in the 16th century, the residence of the Orsini, designed by Baldassare Peruzzi, was built atop the ruins of the ancient theatre. By the 19th century, rises in the street level meant that almost half the ground floor was below it.

Now the upper floors are divided into multiple apartments, and its surroundings are used as a venue for small summer concerts; the Portico d'Ottavia lies to the north west leading to the Roman Ghetto and the Tiber to the south west. The Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Holy See is located in the premises of Casa Litta – Palazzo Orsini, in Teatro Marcello. [5]

Influence

In the 17th century, the English architect Sir Christopher Wren explicitly acknowledged that his design for the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford was influenced by Serlio's engraving of the Theatre of Marcellus.

Copies

A 1:100 scale model of the theatre is found in Room IX of the Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doric order</span> Order of classical architecture

The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. Originating in the western Doric region of Greece, it is the earliest and, in its essence, the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campus Martius</span> Public space in ancient Rome

The Campus Martius was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 square kilometres in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers a smaller section of the original area, bears the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman theatre (structure)</span> Theatre building built in ancient Roman times

Roman theatres derive from and are part of the overall evolution of earlier Greek theatres. Much of the architectural influence on the Romans came from the Greeks, and theatre structural design was no different from other buildings. However, Roman theatres have specific differences, such as generally being built upon their own foundations instead of earthen works or a hillside and being completely enclosed on all sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tabularium</span> Official records office of ancient Rome

The Tabularium was the official records office of ancient Rome and housed the offices of many city officials. Situated within the Roman Forum, it was on the front slope of the Capitoline Hill, below the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, to the southeast of the Arx.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forum Holitorium</span>

The Forum Holitorium or Olitorium is an archaeological area of Rome, Italy, on the slopes of the Capitoline Hill. It was located outside the Carmental Gate in the Campus Martius, crowded between the cattle market and buildings located in the Circus Flaminius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circus Flaminius</span> Circus in ancient Rome

The Circus Flaminius was a large, circular area in ancient Rome, located in the southern end of the Campus Martius near the Tiber River. It contained a small race-track used for obscure games, and various other buildings and monuments. It was "built", or sectioned off, by Gaius Flaminius in 221 BC. After Augustus divided the city into 14 administrative regions, the Circus Flaminius gave its name to Regio IX, which encompassed the Circus and all of the Campus Martius west of the Via Lata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basilica Julia</span> Building in Roman Forum, Italy

The Basilica Julia was a structure that once stood in the Roman Forum. It was a large, ornate, public building used for meetings and other official business during the Roman Empire. Its ruins have been excavated. What is left from its classical period are mostly foundations, floors, a small back corner wall with a few arches that are part of both the original building and later imperial reconstructions and a single column from its first building phase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre of Pompey</span> Theatre in Ancient Rome

The Theatre (UK) or Theater (US) of Pompey, also known by other names, was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great. Completed in 55 BC, it was the first permanent theatre to be built in Rome. Its ruins are located at Largo di Torre Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcellus (nephew of Augustus)</span> Nephew of Roman emperor Augustus

Marcus Claudius Marcellus was the eldest son of Gaius Claudius Marcellus and Octavia Minor, sister of Augustus. He was Augustus' nephew and closest male relative, and began to enjoy an accelerated political career as a result. He was educated with his cousin Tiberius and traveled with him to Hispania where they served under Augustus in the Cantabrian Wars. In 25 BC he returned to Rome where he married his cousin Julia, who was the emperor's daughter. Marcellus and Augustus' general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa were the two popular choices as heir to the empire. According to Suetonius, this put Agrippa at odds with Marcellus, and is the reason why Agrippa traveled away from Rome to Mytilene in 23 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sant'Angelo (rione of Rome)</span> Rione of Rome in Lazio, Italy

Sant'Angelo is the 11th rione of Rome, Italy, located in Municipio I. Often written as rione XI - Sant'Angelo, it has a coat of arms with an angel on a red background, holding a palm branch in its left hand. In another version, the angel holds a sword in its right hand and a scale in its left.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple of Apollo Sosianus</span> Roman temple in the Campus Martius

The Temple of Apollo Sosianus is a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo in the Campus Martius, next to the Theatre of Marcellus and the Porticus Octaviae, in Rome, Italy. Its present name derives from that of its final rebuilder, Gaius Sosius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pons Cestius</span> Ancient Roman bridge, a landmark of Rome, Italy

The Pons Cestius is an ancient Roman bridge connecting the right bank of the Tiber with the west bank of Tiber Island in Rome, Italy. In Late Antiquity, the bridge was replaced and renamed the Pons Gratiani. It is also known as Ponte San Bartolomeo. No more than one third of the present stone bridge is of ancient material, as it was entirely rebuilt and extended in the 19th century after numerous earlier restorations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple of Janus (Forum Holitorium)</span> Ancient religious monument in Rome, Italy

The Temple of Janus at the Forum Holitorium was a Roman temple dedicated to the god Janus, located between the Capitoline Hill and the Tiber River near the Circus Flaminius in the southern Campus Martius. The temple was built during the First Punic War, after the Temple of Janus in the Roman Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fluting (architecture)</span> Architectural practice of cutting grooves through an otherwise plain surface

Fluting in architecture and the decorative arts consists of shallow grooves running along a surface. The term typically refers to the curved grooves (flutes) running vertically on a column shaft or a pilaster, but is not restricted to those two applications. If the hollowing out of material meets in a point, the point is called an arris. If the raised ridge between two flutes appears flat, the ridge is a fillet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stadium of Domitian</span> Ancient Roman stadium, a landmark of Rome, Italy

The Stadium of Domitian, also known as the Circus Agonalis, was located to the north of the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The Stadium was commissioned around AD 80 by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus as a gift to the people of Rome and was used almost entirely for athletic contests. In Christian tradition, Agnes of Rome was martyred there.

During the Middle Ages, Rome was divided into a number of administrative regions, usually numbering between twelve and fourteen, which changed over time.

The architecture of Rome over the centuries has greatly developed from Ancient Roman architecture to Italian modern and contemporary architecture. Rome was once the world's main epicentres of Classical architecture, developing new forms such as the arch, the dome and the vault. The Romanesque style in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries was also widely used in Roman architecture, and later the city became one of the main centres of Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Rome's cityscape is also widely Neoclassical and Fascist in style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple of Jupiter Feretrius</span> Lost ancient Roman temple

The Temple of Jupiter Feretrius was, according to legend, the first temple ever built in Rome. Its site is uncertain but is thought to have been on the Capitoline Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Rome</span> Overview of and topical guide to Rome

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Rome:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regio IX Circus Flaminius</span> Historical region of Rome

The Regio IX Circus Flaminius is the ninth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio IX took its name from the racecourse located in the southern end of the Campus Martius, close to Tiber Island.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Leland M. Roth 1993 Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning (Westview Press: Boulder, CO ISBN   0-06-430158-3 and Cassius Dio 53.30.5., pp 230-31
  2. 1 2 Cartwright, Mark. "Theatre of Marcellus". World History Encyclopedia . Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  3. Gregorovius, Ferdinand, History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages, Vol. 1, (1894), pg. 45
  4. Blagg, T.F.C., "Brick and tile" section, in "Architecture, 1, a) Religious", section in Diane Favro, et al. "Rome, ancient." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed March 26, 2016, subscription required
  5. "Sovereign Order of Malta Embassy to the Holy See". Sovereign Order of Malta. Retrieved 11 Sep 2022.
  6. "Room XI: Augustus", Museo della Civiltà Romana

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Theater of Marcellus at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Stadium of Domitian
Landmarks of Rome
Theatre of Marcellus
Succeeded by
Theatre of Pompey