Theatrum Marcelli

The Augustan successor of the theatrum ad aedem Apollinis (feci: RG 21) and the second stone theater built in Rome, located at the E end of the *Circus Flaminius in front of the Temple of *Apollo Medicus (AD THEATRVM MARCELLI: Fast. Arv. and Urb., in Degrassi, Inscr. Ital. 13.2, 35, 63). Dedicated in either 13 (Dio. Cass. 54.26.1) or 11 B.C. (Pliny, NH 8.65, cf. 7.121: Marcelli theatrum) by Augustus, the theater was named after his nephew Marcus Marcellus (Dio. Cass. 43.49.3). When Julius Caesar initiated the building project in 44 B.C., he had to remove temples and houses from the area, including the Temple of Pietas on the NW end of *Forum Holitorium, to prepare the site for the theater (Richardson 290, 382). The construction took place under Augustus, who bought more land near the Temple of Apollo to extend the site (RG 21). Even though the construction was not complete, part of the celebrations of the ludi Saeculares in 17 B.C. took place in the theater (CIL VI 32323.157). Possibly a larger theater was intended at the time of Caesar (Suet., Iul. 44.1: theatrum summae magnitudinis Tarpeio monti accubans); while the 4th-c. A.D. Regionary Catalogues list its capacity at 20,500 loca, others estimate it held c. 13,500 spectators (Not. 176; cf. Ciancio Rossetto, LTUR 34; ead. 1982-83, 8). Space for only a narrow thoroughfare remained between the rear of the theater and the terrace walls of the Apollo and *Bellona temples. If the widespread scholarly opinion that this passage served as part of the triumphal procession route is correct, Augustus’ architects must have had difficulty fitting the large theater building on the site. However, the triumphal parade, which originated in the *Circus Flaminius, may not have followed this paved street, but rather have passed through the orchestra of the theater itself (cf. Joseph., BellJ<a class="" href="http://example.com/new.php?page=BellJ">?</a> 7.131), with the cavea conveniently open to seat spectators (Favro 1996, 164). Since two circular monuments, the Perirrhanterion (s.v. Apollo Medicus, Aedes) and the columna Bellica (s.v. Bellona, Aedes), may have obstructed the passage behind the theater, a route through the orchestra seems likely. While Favro suggests that the theater’s NE-SW axis (contrary to the E axes of the *Theatrum Pompeium and *Theatrum: Balbus) was dictated by the requirements of triumphal processions through the orchestra (1994, 157), it may also have been a product of its restricted building site. Most of the theater’s plan is preserved on the Severan Marble Plan (Rodríguez Almeida, Forma pl. 23, frags. 29-31). The foundations of the cavea survive to our day, having served as the infrastructure for Palazzo Savelli-Orsini (16th-18th c., Claridge, Nota et al.). The lower vaulted arcades of travertine, located beneath the cavea and facing the Temple of Apollo Medicus, were uncovered when more than 4 m of débris was removed during the Italian government’s ‘liberation’ of the monument between 1926 and 1932 (La Rocca 1995; Cianfa et al. 1985, 539). Two symmetrically-placed halls of basilical plan were located on either side of the stage building. The function of the semicircular walled space behind the stage building that appears on the Marble Plan (on a now-lost fragment) with a pair of centrally-placed, small square features is a matter of debate (Fidenzoni 42-43 and fig. 22). Given the proximity of the Temple of Apollo and *Porticus Octaviae, Richardson (383) refrains from identifying a theater temple or a portico in this extensive complex, and considers it as an unroofed terrace overlooking the river. Ciancio Rossetto (35) interpreted the hemispherical wall as a barrier against *Tiber inundations, while Coarelli (1997, 451, 486) speculated that the two square features represented two small temples; one dedicated to Pietas and the other to Diana (s.v. *Diana, Aedes [Campus Flaminius]).