Teatro Antico di Taormina

Nature, art and history are the three ingredients of Taormina's international success that make the Pearl of the Ionian one of the most sought-after destinations since modern tourism has existed. In particular, its Ancient Theater is the main attraction that has always conquered generations and generations of visitors. Ancient Theatre The panoramic points that the Theater offers allow you to admire Etna and the bay of Naxos and Taormina to the south or the Calabrian coast with the Strait of Messina to the north. Within this spectacular natural setting, the construction of the building with the cavea cut into the rock is in perfect harmony with the surrounding environment. Presumably the theater is of Hellenistic origin , as suggested by some stone blocks from Taormina, still visible under the stage, and the Greek inscriptions on some steps with the name of Philistide, wife of Hieron II and probable commissioner of the construction, kept in the western direction. The temple also belongs to the Hellenistic ageof which the foundations are preserved at the top of the cavea. Over the centuries the Theater has undergone several reconstructions and the consequent changes of use, from a stage for classical performances to a ring between gladiators and wild animals, thus becoming an amphitheater . Then followed centuries of abandonment until the Middle Ages with the conversion of the stage building into a residence . The Theater is once again the true protagonist with the romantic rediscovery linked to the Grand Tour . Starting from the seventeenth century Taormina and above all its theater represent an obligatory stopfor every traveler passionate about history and culture. Since then and still today, all this takes place as a progressively more accessible tourist experience but always attentive to the cultural and artistic value of its precious resources. The scene partly retains its original form , thanks to a controversial 19th - century restoration . Two large side rooms (versurae) closed off the scene and the stalls. Consisting of the steps, the cavea has a diameter of 109 meters. It is divided into nine sectors or "wedges" by eight ladders and could hold at least 10,000 spectators (today 4,500). A double porch it is passable in summa cavea . The internal portico had ten entrances, two at the ends and eight at each wedge or sector of the cavea. In each sector there were 4 niches, for a total of 36, alternating semicircular and rectangular. The niches, still clearly visible, were perhaps embellished with statues. Above the cavea, in the eastern part, stands the building of the small Antiquarium which houses the important epigraphic collection of Taormina in the back room, while in the bookshop room some fragments of floor mosaics, of various chronology, from the II century BC to the third century AD Some Greek inscriptions of a public nature are highlighted, such as the tables of the Strategoi, of the Gymnasiarchs and the financial statements, chronologically datable between the 2nd and 1st century BC There are also the remains of a Roman calendar and of Fasti consulares found at the Roman Baths, some fragments of painted plaster from the IIIrd II century BC bearing the names of Philistus of Syracuse, Fabius Painter and Callisthenes of Olinto. The fragments come from a building identified as the Gymnasium, located on a terrace below the Theater in front of the Villa Comunale of Taormina. The beautiful sarcophagus of a child with a scene of thiasos or Bacchic banquet comes from the area of ​​the necropolis of via Pirandello and dates back to the 2nd century AD