The Roman Theater of Zaragoza is a Roman theatre in the Roman '' colonia'' of

Caesaraugusta Caesaraugusta or Caesar Augusta was the name of the Roman city of Zaragoza, founded as a '' Colonia Inmune'' from Rome in 14 BC, possibly on December 23, on the intensely Romanized Iberian city of Salduie. Its foundation occurred in the context ...

–present-day

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, Spain–, in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Hispania Tarraconensis Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with modern North Region, Portugal, northern Portugal. Southern Spain, the region now ...

. It was built in the first half of the 1st century AD, in the Age of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

and

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

, following the model of the

Theatre of Marcellus The Theatre of Marcellus (, ) was an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. It is located in the modern rione of Sant'Angelo. In the sixteenth century, it was converted into a palazzo. Construc ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. It was used for Roman theatrical performances and had a capacity of 6,000 spectators in a city where only lived 18.000 people. Currently in ruins, it was active until the third century. Its materials were used to build walls and other buildings. In 1973, archeological excavations uncovered it. It can currently be visited within the framework of the Cesaraugusta Theater Museum. It was declared ''

Bien de Interés Cultural (, , , ) is a category of the heritage register in Spain. The term is also used in Colombia and other Spanish-speaking countries. The term literally means a "good of cultural interest" ("goods" in the economic sense). It includes not only mater ...

'' in 2001.

History

The construction of the Roman theater of

began in the early 1st century during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. It was completed under the rule of Emperor Claudius by the mid-1st century AD. Covering an area of 7,000 square meters (with a diameter of 106 meters), it ranks as one of the largest theaters in Roman

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

. The theater could accommodate approximately 6,000 spectators in a city with a population of around 20,000 inhabitants.

Technical features

Unlike other theaters that utilized the natural slopes of the land, this building was constructed on flat ground using '

opus caementicium Roman concrete, also called , was used in construction in ancient Rome. Like its modern equivalent, Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement added to an aggregate. Many buildings and structures still standing today, such as br ...

'. It was modeled after the

, featuring a design of concentric rings with radial walls between them. These walls formed the cavea, or seating tiers, which were then covered with marble slabs, as was the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

. The facade was adorned with ashlar blocks in the '

opus quadratum ''Opus quadratum'' ("squared work") is an ancient Roman construction technique, in which squared blocks of stone of the same height were set in parallel courses, most often without the use of Mortar (masonry), mortar. The Latin author Vitruvius d ...

' style, rising to an external height of three stories and twenty-two meters. The theater boasted a unique, independent entrance from the central door of the facade directly to the orchestra. This path ran perpendicular to the stage or ''scena'' and served as a central axis for the theater, exclusively for authorities to directly access their reserved seats in the orchestral semicircle. This special entrance can also be seen in theaters in Turin and

Minturno Minturno is a city and ''comune'' in southern Lazio, Italy, situated on the north west bank of the Garigliano (known in antiquity as the Liris). It has a station on the Rome-Naples main railway line. History The nearby sanctuary of Marica w ...

. However, it stands out as unique among the theaters of Roman Hispania. This design choice might be attributed to the variety of performances, not just dramatic, that took place within.

Transformation and rediscovery

The theater's decline began in the 3rd century when stones were repurposed to fortify the city walls and other constructions. As a result, only the Roman concrete structure remains visible today. Over the years, the theater was buried beneath subsequent constructions. It remained obscured until the 1970s when excavations brought it back into the light. Following its rediscovery, it has been refurbished for public visits and now houses a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

that displays and interprets the archaeological finds uncovered. Visitors can view the remnants of the seating tiers and

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

via walkways. These remnants are protected under a large translucent

polycarbonate Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate ester, carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, toughness, tough materials, and some grades are optically transp ...

cover. Adjacent to the archaeological remains, a building has been restored to house the Interpretation Center. This center acquaints visitors with the history of the theater, the dramatic genres, and the social and political life of the era.Francisco de Asís Escudero and María Pilar Galves
''Edificios de espectáculos''
(in Spanish) L'erma di Bretschneider, 2007, vol. 4, pgs. 57-70. ISBN 9788882653986.

Gallery

File:Ancient Roman theater in Cesaraugusta.jpg, Remains of Caesaraugusta's Ancient Roman theatre, in the modern Zaragossa, in Spain. Constructed with opus caementicium, we can appreciate one of its vomitoria. File:Ancient Roman theatre in Zaragoza Spain.jpg, Ancient Roman theatre in Zaragoza, at night File:Teatro Romano Cesaraugusta 2.jpg, View of the theatre File:Saragozza - Foro romano.jpg, View of the theatre File:Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta.JPG, View of the theatre File:Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta.jpg, View of the theatre File:Teatro Romano de Zaragoza - P8166349.jpg, View of the theatre File:Museo del Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta - Wiki Takes Caesaraugusta 27.jpg, View of the theatre File:Teatro romano de Zaragoza 2.jpg, View of the theatre File:Teatro Romano de Zaragoza 001.jpg, View of the theatre File:Teatro Romano de Zaragoza 002.jpg, View of the theatre File:Teatro Romano de Zaragoza 003.jpg, View of the theatre File:Antiguo teatro romano de Zaragoza, España, Spain.jpg, View of the Roman theatre File:Cartel teatro romano.jpg, Roman Theatre Museum poster of a scenic pit File:Gradas del teatro romano de Zaragoza.JPG, Stands of the Roman theater of Zarazoza File:Teatro romano de Caesaraugusta, panorámica 03.jpg, Panoramic view of the remains of the Roman theater of Caesaraugusta in present-day Zaragoza, Spain File:Gradas del teatro romano.jpg, Stands of the Roman Theater Museum in Zaragoza File:Maqueta del Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta.jpg,

Model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

of the Roman Theater of Zaragoza (Caesaraugusta) File:Museo de las Termas de Zaragoza.1.jpg, Frame roof structure at the Zaragoza's (Caesaraugusta) Roman Theater Museum File:Museo del Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta - Wiki Takes Caesaraugusta 04.jpg, Drainage channel of the

of the Roman Theater of Zaragoza (Caesaraugusta) File:Museo del Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta.29.jpg, Central ramp for access to the

File:Museo del Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta.33.jpg File:Museo Teatro Romano Zgz.jpg, Foundation of a staircase for access to the lower stands of the theatre File:Panoramica del teatro romano - panoramica.jpg, Overview of the Roman theater File:Photo Sphere Teatro Romano de Zaragoza.jpg, Spherical image of the Roman Theater of Zaragoza

Displayed in the

File:Museo del teatro romano - reproducción 2.jpg File:Museo del teatro romano - reproducción.jpg, Hypothetical reconstruction of the interior circulation of the Roman theater of Zaragoza File:Teatro romano de Zaragoza. Cabeza de escultura de una joven del siglo I. Zaragoza, España, Spain.jpg, Roman theater of Zaragoza. Sculpture head of a young girl from the 1st century CE. Zaragoza, in Spain File:Museo del Teatro Romano de Caesaraugusta.20.jpg, Model of the Roman theater of Zaragoza in the museum

References