Dating to the end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd century AD, it stands in the western area of the ancient city. The monument, whose cavea measures approximately 98 meters in diameter, is built with cement work using limestone and brick facing blocks. The seating and the stage front were covered with marble, as were the marble slabs and stuccoes—still partially preserved—that decorated the aulae, the two large rooms that, through corridors (parodoi), lead to the orchestra. The cavea, semi-circular in plan, is built on foundations and features three orders: Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian. Only the lower order is preserved, consisting of twenty-five arches on pillars with Tuscan semi-columns. The arches of the cavea, with a wide finished cornice, featured keystones shaped in relief—represented by busts in the lower order and, very likely, by masks in the upper orders. Some of these masks have been reused in buildings in the Historic Center, where they are still visible. At the top, the cavea ended with a gallery containing niches.
Information about the Roman Theatre of Benevento
Piazza Ponzio Telesino
82100 Benevento (Benevento)
082429970 082447213
sar-cam.benevento@beniculturali.it
https://www.archeosa.beniculturali.it/
Source: MIBACT
