Datable between the end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd century AD, it rises in the western area of the ancient city. The monument, whose cavea measures about 98 meters in diameter, is built in cement work with limestone and brick facing blocks. The stands and the frons scenae were covered in marble, as were marble slabs and stuccoes, still partially preserved, which decorated the aulae, the two large rooms that, through corridors (parodoi), lead to the orchestra. The cavea, with a semicircular plan, is built on foundations and has 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 as reliefs, 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, in which niches opened.
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
