Datable between the late 1st and early 2nd century AD, it stands in the western area of the ancient city. The monument, whose cavea measures about 98 meters in diameter, is built using concrete with facing blocks of limestone and brick. The steps and the frons scenae were covered in marble, as were marble slabs and stuccoes, still partially preserved, decorating the aulae, the two large rooms that, through corridors (parodoi), lead into the orchestra. The cavea, semicircular in plan, is built on substructures and features three orders: Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian. Only the lower order remains, consisting of twenty-five arches on pillars with Tuscan half-columns. The cavea’s arches, with wide finished cornices, had reliefs as keystones, represented by busts in the lower order and, very likely, masks in the upper orders. Some of these masks have been reused in buildings in the Historic Center, where they are still visible. The cavea ended at the top with a gallery opening onto 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
