While few remains of the odeion are known, the Roman-era theater is better known, documented by ancient written records and likely depicted in artistic works from the 15th and 16th centuries.
The building, constructed in opus mixtum of reticulatum and latericium, is dated in its now visible form between the late 1st and early 2nd century AD, a period in which it was completely rebuilt, possibly after the earthquake of 62 or the eruption of 79 AD. In the area of the Roman-era theater, no trace remains of the Greek period performance building, nor of the earliest Roman phases.
The theater was then abandoned around the mid-5th century AD, as the site’s functions changed; later, parts of the public building were occupied by burial clusters, attributable to the 6th and 7th centuries AD, while others were obliterated by substantial accumulations of arable soil.
The archaeological monument effectively constitutes a significant example of “urban archaeology” through which it is possible to reconstruct the building history, from ancient times to the modern era, of an entire urban sector of Naples. After some chance discoveries in 1859, which allowed the first plan of the building to be traced, the first excavations carried out between 1881 and 1891 uncovered part of the cavea within the garden of one of the buildings facing the city’s upper decumanus (ancient street).
Subsequently, investigations conducted with scientific methods made it possible in 1985 to accurately survey and isolate the Roman-era masonry structures from the modern ones and then, starting from 1997, to explore the area meanwhile acquired by the Public Demesne. With the new systematic excavation campaigns, some sections of the outer and inner ambulatory have been uncovered, equipped with niches and a complex water drainage system, with their supporting wedges and vomitoria (entrances), which led to the stairways of the media cavea (the intermediate part) of the stands, as well as part of the stage, aiming to restore the monument for public use, within a comprehensive plan for the enhancement of the entire urban sector.
Equally important are the surviving decorated surfaces: from the floors of the inner ambulatory to the plasters, some of which are graffitied with interesting inscriptions, to the marble cladding of the cavea’s stairs. In subsequent interventions, it is planned to extend the investigation also to the scenae front (scenic building) where theatrical performances were held, also celebrated in ancient sources.
