The Roman Theatre of Catania, Catania, Italy

The Roman Theatre of Catania was built in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD to the remains of earlier Greek theatre. It had seats for 7000 visitors.

User Reviews

Angela Fewell (8 months ago)
Fascinating place! Lots of passageways under/behind the seating. You can sit and look down on the stage area and imagine the performances that might have been. Also fun to watch the tiny lizards running over the stones in the sun. You need to wear your mask and have your temperature taken as you go in. I was expecting a one way system with a different exit to the entrance, but, if there was we couldn't work it out! Only 6 euros per person to enter.

João Alves (8 months ago)
It is in well state of conservation. It lacks some explanations. The costs 6 euros. It can worth depending on how much you like ruins and history.

Tamo (8 months ago)
Very historic, can walk all through the interior of the theatre. Calm and quite. The entrance does not look like a roman theatre entrance.

Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath (8 months ago)
Beautiful area in the city Center. Would be even better if there were more work to renovate !

Michal Szczurek (8 months ago)
One of the most beautiful ancient theatrical complex in Sicilia that is composed of the main amphitheatre and a smaller one - odeon - for rehearsal purposes. Well preserved but it could be the experience could be further improved with additional commentary around the venue. Nevertheless it's an amazing building, it's underground is widely open to public and it's only 5 minutes walk from the Catania city centre.

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Historic Site of the week

Heraclea Lyncestis

Heraclea Lyncestis was an ancient Greek city in Macedon, ruled later by the Romans. It was founded by Philip II of Macedon in the middle of the 4th century BC. The city was named in honor of the mythological hero Heracles. The name Lynkestis originates from the name of the ancient kingdom, conquered by Philip, where the city was built.

Heraclea was a strategically important town during the Hellenistic period, as it was at the edge of Macedon"s border with Epirus to the west and Paeonia to the north, until the middle of the 2nd century BC, when the Romans conquered Macedon and destroyed its political power. The main Roman road in the area, Via Egnatia went through Heraclea, and Heraclea was an important stop. The prosperity of the city was maintained mainly due to this road.

The Roman emperor Hadrian built a theatre in the center of the town, on a hill, when many buildings in the Roman province of Macedonia were being restored. It began being used during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Inside the theatre there were three animal cages and in the western part a tunnel. The theatre went out of use during the late 4th century AD, when gladiator fights in the Roman Empire were banned, due to the spread of Christianity, the formulation of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the abandonment of, what was then perceived as, pagan rituals and entertainment.

Late Antiquity and Byzantine periods

In the early Byzantine period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea was an important episcopal centre. A small and a great basilica, the bishop"s residence, and a funerary basilica and the necropolis are some of the remains of this period. Three naves in the Great Basilica are covered with mosaics of very rich floral and figurative iconography; these well preserved mosaics are often regarded as fine examples of the early Christian art period.

The city was sacked by Ostrogoth/Visigoth forces, commanded by Theodoric the Great in 472 AD and again in 479 AD. It was restored in the late 5th and early 6th century. When an earthquake struck in 518 AD, the inhabitants of Heraclea gradually abandoned the city. Subsequently, at the eve of the 7th century, the Dragovites, a Slavic tribe pushed down from the north by the Avars, settled in the area. The last coin issue dates from ca. 585, which suggests that the city was finally captured by the Slavs. As result, in place of the deserted city theatre several huts were built.

The Episcopacy Residence was excavated between 1970 and 1975. The western part was discovered first and the southern side is near the town wall. The luxury rooms are located in the eastern part. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th rooms all have mosaic floors. Between the 3rd and 4th rooms there is a hole that led to the eastern entrance of the residence. The hole was purposefully created between the 4th and 6th century.

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