Percorso archeologico della Chiesa di San Giuseppe (resti del teatro romano)

Beneath the church of San Giuseppe in Alba, archaeological remains reveal layers of the ancient city, including part of a Roman theatre, a medieval tower base and traces of late-antique wooden buildings.

Why it matters

The remains offer a compact record of Alba Pompeia's changing urban life, from Roman public architecture to medieval fortification and late-antique settlement. The wooden-building traces are especially unusual because such structures rarely survive in the region's archaeological record.

What to notice

The excavated area preserves masonry associated with the Roman theatre, the base of a medieval tower and postholes linked to late-antique huts. Their close relationship shows how later construction reused earlier parts of the city.

Context and history

The church of San Giuseppe was commissioned in 1642 by the Compagnia dei Pellegrini and inaugurated in 1656. Archaeological excavations beneath the Cappella del Crocifisso revealed the theatre remains, medieval tower base and late-antique structures. The Centro Culturale San Giuseppe manages the archaeological and cultural spaces.