Spoletium (modern Spoleto, Italy)

3rd quarter 1st century BCE (Gaggiotti); Augustan (Lugli); 1t half 1st century CE (Pietrangeli); mid-1st century. CE (Ciotti).

Cavea Width: 72 meters
Orchestra Width: 22 meters

The Roman theatre at Spoletium, located in modern Spoleto, Italy (ancient Spoletium), is a standard Roman theatre with a cavea diameter of 72.20 meters; the seating was divided into ima cavea (11 rows in 4 cunei) and summa cavea (13 rows in approximately 8 cunei); the theatre faces north; it accommodated 2,800-3,500 spectators; the orchestra measures 21.70 meters in diameter; constructed at the end of the 1st century BCE on artificial terracing; the structure remains well-preserved with substantial cavea intact despite ancient geological damage that caused a 2-3 meter displacement of the western section, while the eastern section benefits from integration with original town walls, and the orchestra retains much of its rare 4th-century CE polychrome marble paving, though medieval construction over the stage area significantly altered the original scaenae frons.

Spoletium Theatre (modern Spoleto, Italy)

Location: The Roman theatre was built immediately inside the city walls of Roman Spoletum (modern Spoleto) in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria, 126 km north of Rome. Cicero writes that the ancient settlement dates to the 5th century BCE and became a Latin Colony in 95 BCE.

History: The Roman theatre dates back to the end of the 1st century BCE and was constructed by order of Gaius Calvisius Sabinus, who had served as consul in 39 BCE. Sabinus was a loyal supporter of first Gaius Julius Caesar and then the latter’s adoptive son Augustus. “Shortly after or during construction, an enormous fissure through the cavea caused the entire west side to slip some 2 to 3 meters. The damage was repaired, possibly more than once, and the theatre remained in use until the end of the fourth century” (Sear 163). In the eleventh century, the church of Sant’Agata and the palazzo of the Corvi family were built over the theatre’s ruins. In 1395, the Benedictine nuns settled in the Corvi palace, and the theatre, now buried, became the monastery’s cloister. The ruins were sketched in the 16th century by the Sienese architect Baldassare Peruzzi, but it wasn’t until 1891 that the Spoleto archaeologist Giuseppe Sordini identified them as a theatre. Umberto Ciotti conducted theatre excavations between 1954 and 1960 (Thayer).

Architectural Specifications

The following specifications are drawn from Frank Sear’s reference book, Roman Theatres: An Architectural Study (Oxford University Press, 2006), except where otherwise noted.

Location

• Modern city, Country: Spoleto, Italy
• Orientation: Facing north

Cavea (seating area)

• Diameter: 72.20 meters (Sear); approximately 70 meters (Comune di Spoleto)
• Estimated capacity: 2,800-3,500 spectators
• Seating divisions:
  • Ima cavea (lower seating): 11 rows in 4 cunei (wedge-shaped sections)
  • Summa cavea (upper seating): 13 rows in approximately 8 cunei
  • Ambulacrum (corridor) around the top, accessible through 9 doorways corresponding to staircase divisions
• Construction materials: Opus quadratum (squared stone masonry) for primary structure, with opus reticulatum (diamond-pattern masonry) for ambulacrum walls
• Substructures:
  • Eastern section built against town walls utilizing natural slope
  • Western section supported on 21 radial vaults due to terrain limitations
  • Barrel-vaulted crypta (underground corridor) beneath summa cavea with paved floor, drainage channel, and four windows in outer wall
  • Five internal staircases providing access to middle seating sections

Orchestra (performance space)

• Dimensions: 21.70 meters diameter
• Materials: White and colored marble slabs dating to the 4th century CE, representing one of the few extant Roman orchestra floors
• Special features:
  • Paved passage (0.95 meters wide) surrounding orchestra
  • Low walls possibly designed for decorative fountains
  • Evidence of reused marble pieces indicating multiple restoration phases

Pulpitum (stage)

Little remains of the stage. It was greatly altered in the Middle Ages by the construction of the church of Sant’Agata. 

• Length: 44 meters
• Width: 7.72-8.55 meters (9.35 meters including proscaenium wall)
• Construction: Stone foundation with evidence of wooden superstructure
• Stage machinery:
  • Aulaeum slot (0.75 meters wide)
  • Six mast holes for curtain mechanism

Scaenae Frons (decorative scene house front)

Little remains except for a partial foundation. Destroyed during the Early Middle Ages when the church of S. Agata and the palace of the Corvi family were built.

• Indications of  doors Regia (central door) in shallow curved niche; hospitalia (side doors) in shallow rectangular niches, Fragmentary evidence of columns and entablature recovered during excavations
• Decorative elements: Fragments suggest rich architectural ornamentation typical of late Republican/early Imperial design

Access and Circulation

• Entrances: Multiple vomitoria (entrance passages) serving different seating levels
• Circulation:
  • Barrel-vaulted crypta providing circumferential access with three connections to cavea
  • Internal radial staircases connecting different levels
  • Access to the eastern tribunal via a staircase built into adjoining wall thickness

Current Status

The Spoletium theatre cavea structure remains substantially intact, though the significant geological fissure that occurred in antiquity created a visible 2-3 meter displacement in the western section. The eastern section’s integration with original town walls provides excellent structural preservation.

The orchestra retains much of its 4th-century CE polychrome marble paving, offering rare insight into late Imperial decorative practices. However, medieval construction significantly altered the stage area, where the church of Sant’Agata and related monastic buildings were erected over the original scaenae frons.

Conservation Efforts

The site benefits from integrated management through the State Archaeological Museum, housed in the former Monastery of Sant’Agata since 1985. This arrangement provides both protection and interpretive context, with the museum’s ground floor dedicated specifically to the theatre’s history and architecture.

Contemporary Use

The theatre maintains an active performance schedule, particularly during Spoleto’s renowned Festival of Two Worlds (Festival dei Due Mondi).

Ancient Renovation History

• End of 1st century BCE: Initial construction on artificial terracing
• Early Imperial period: Structural crack repair following possible seismic activity
• 4th century CE: Installation of polychrome marble orchestra paving, representing major decorative upgrade
• Late 4th century: Final period of active theatrical use before gradual abandonment

Archaeological evidence indicates that “shortly after or during construction, an enormous fissure through the cavea caused the entire west side to slip some 2 to 3 meters” requiring substantial structural repairs (Comune di Spoleto). The theatre remained functional until approximately the end of the 4th century CE.

Major Excavation Campaigns

Late 19th Century (1891)

• Giuseppe Sordini, Spoleto archaeologist, conducted initial identification and documentation
• First systematic recognition of the structure as a Roman theatre
• Fundamental Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità publication

Mid-20th Century (1954-1960)

• Umberto Ciotti directed comprehensive excavation campaigns
• Systematic uncovering of cavea and stage area remains
• Documentation of construction phases and architectural elements
• Integration with emerging State Archaeological Museum planning

Contemporary Period (1985-present)

• State Archaeological Museum establishment within former Monastery of Sant’Agata (1985)
• Ongoing conservation and interpretive programs
• Integration of theatre remains with museum displays
• Recent reorganization emphasizing educational accessibility

Bibliography / Resources:

Ciotti, Ugo. “Teatro Romano di Spoleto.” Fasti Archaeologici, vol. 7, 1952, pp. 3773.

—. “Spoletium.” Spoletium, vol. 10, 1960, pp. 9-26.

“History of Spoleto.” Comune di Spoleto. 2021, www.comune.spoleto.pg.it/turismoecultura/en/storia/.

Messalla. “Spoleto: Remains of a Roman city.” Corvinus, 10 May 2019, corvinus.nl/2019/05/10/spoleto-remains-of-a-roman-city/. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.

Rambaldi, Marco. “Long Ago in Spoleto. 1891: Sordini digs out the Roman Theatre.” Comune di Spoleto Turismo e Cultura, 27 Aug. 2021, www.comune.spoleto.pg.it/turismoecultura/en/2021/08/27/1891-sordini-scopre-il-teatro-romano-di-spoleto/.

“Roman Theatre and State Archaeological Museum.” Comune di Spoleto. 2018, www.comune.spoleto.pg.it/turismoecultura/en/itinerari/i-10-luoghi-da-non-perdere/teatro-romano-e-museo-archeologico-nazionale/.

“The Roman Theatre at Spoletium.” Comune di Spoleto Turismo e cultura. 2015, www.comune.spoleto.pg.it/turismoecultura/en/la-citta/teatri/teatro-romano/. Accessed 11 Aug. 2024.

Sear, Frank. Roman Theatres: An Architectural Study. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Sordini, Giuseppe. “Spoletium – Avanzi di antico teatro.” Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità, 1891, pp. 50-55.

“Spoletium (Spoleto) Umbria, Italy.” The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, edited by Richard Stillwell et al., www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0006:entry=spoletium. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.

“State Archaeological Museum.” Comune di Spoleto. 2015, www.comune.spoleto.pg.it/turismoecultura/en/the-city/museums/museo-archeologico-nazionale/.

Thayer, William P. “Once Again, A Working Theatre.” LacusCurtius: Into the Roman World, The University of Chicago, 11 Jan. 2011, penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Umbria/Perugia/Spoleto/Spoleto/Roman/theatre.html. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Longobards in Italy. Places of the Power (568-774 A.D.).” 2011, whc.unesco.org/en/list/1318/.

Wikipedia contributors. “Spoleto.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 31 May 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoleto. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.