The Roman Theater of Volterra was rediscovered in the 1950s during archaeological excavations carried out by Enrico Fiumi, a historian from Volterra, in Vallebuona. As stated on a plaque at the entrance to the building, some inmates of the psychiatric hospital of Volterra were used as workers to rediscover this historically important place.
When was it built and by whom?
The Roman Theater of Volterra can be dated to the end of the 1st century BC. and was built thanks to the consuls Gaio Cecina Largo and Aulo Cecina Severo belonging to the rich Caecina family from Volterra. For the construction, as often happened in Greek theatres, the natural slope was used directly.
How many spectators could the theater hold?
Due to its dimensions (diameter of 60 meters for 24 steps), it is estimated that the capacity of the theater should have been around 3500 seats, therefore very similar in size to those of Trieste, Djemila, Dougga.
Photo by Ben Kerckx from Pixabay.
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