Theatre of Salona

About

Salona's theatre measured 65 by 58 meters and seated around 3,500 spectators on stone benches near the forum. It went up in the decades after Augustus elevated the city to colonial status, giving Roman drama and pantomime a permanent home in Dalmatia's new capital. Danish excavators mapped its plan in the 1920s, confirming an early Imperial build well predating the city's amphitheatre.

What happened here

Seating is the message: the front rows are reserved by law for the town council, and everyone can see who is sitting where. The building is a half-circle against a tall stone backdrop that also serves as a permanent set, and the acoustics are good enough that an actor can be heard without effort. The programme is mime and pantomime more than the old tragedies — bawdy, topical, sometimes politically sharp enough that performers get exiled. Audiences are loud, partisan, and quite prepared to shout a piece down. Awnings and perfumed water sprays are laid on when the sponsor is generous. Shows are attached to religious festivals and paid for by a magistrate who wants the credit, and his name is on the seating.

Sources

• https://www.croatiatraveller.com/central%20dalmatia/Solin.htm
• https://www.romeartlover.it/Salona.html

Nearby

Forum of Salona

69 m

Manastirine Necropolis

164 m

Great Thermae of Salona

230 m

Porta Caesarea, Salona

262 m

City Walls of Salona (Urbs Vetus)

284 m

Amphitheatre of Salona

1.3 km