Teatro Romano di Volterra con Terme

Volterra's Roman Theatre preserves its seating, stage wall and portico outside the medieval town. A bath complex was later built within the theatre's former portico, creating a layered archaeological site.

Why it matters

Built in the first imperial age at the expense of members of the Caecina family, the theatre is one of Volterra's most substantial Roman remains. Its cavea used the slope of the hill and seated about 3,500 people. The complex also preserves evidence of the later bath building.

What to notice

The cavea is about sixty metres across and has twenty-four rows. A covered corridor behind the lower seating opened onto the rows through eleven doors. The two-level stage façade retains its arrangement of columns, openings and exedras; behind it, three arms of the portico remain visible. The later baths include surviving lower walls and stretches of mosaic.

Context and history

The theatre was built for Aulo Caecina Severo and Gaio Caecina Largo. It was abandoned at the end of the third century, when baths occupied part of the portico. In the thirteenth century, the city walls were built across the upper cavea. Enrico Fiumi excavated the site in the 1950s, bringing the theatre and baths back into view.