Theatre of Marcellus

The Theatre of Marcellus is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances of drama and song. Today its ancient edifice in the area of Sant’Angelo, Rome, once again provides one of the city’s many popular spectacles or tourist sites. Space for the theatre was cleared by Julius Caesar, who was murdered before its construction could begin; the theatre was advanced enough by 17 BC, it was completed in 13 BC and formally inaugurated in 12 BC by Augustus. The theatre was 111 m in diameter and was the largest and most important theatre in Ancient Rome; it could originally hold between 11000 and 20000 spectators. Now the upper floors are divided into multiple apartments, and its surroundings are used as a venue for small summer concerts. In the 17th century, the English architect Sir Christopher Wren explicitly acknowledged that his design for the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford was influenced by Serlio’s engraving of the Theatre of Marcellus.