Roman Theatre of Gubbio
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Roman Theatre of Gubbio

In Gubbio, in the immediate vicinity of Porta degliOrtacci, lies the important archaeological area of Guastuglia, which extends over a wide green plain below the historic centre, offering a beautiful view of the city.

In the area, a vast late-Republican quarter (2nd-1st century B.C.) has been brought to light, with the remains of important structures, such as a bathhouse, numerous domus with mosaic floors, a sanctuary from the proto-imperial age, stretches of paved streets and part of the extra-urban area with burial monuments.

The most important building in the entire area is the Roman theatre, whose construction began in the 1st century BC and was completed between 55 and 20 BC.

With a maximum width of about 70 metres, the theatre is built on two levels, reaching an overall height of about 12 metres.

Originally, the theatre featured two rows of arcades, of which the lower arcade and a section of the upper one remain, adorned with large limestone blocks in opus quadratum with rustic ashlar, while the corridors of the entrances, the “vomitoria”, show traces of opus reticulatum.

The cavea, which could seat an audience of more than six thousand people - higher, therefore, than the theatre of Pompeii, which accommodated about five thousand - is divided into four sections. Access was from the corridors below, with no radial steps and therefore probably connected to the cavea by wooden stairs.

The orchestra of the scaena is paved with limestone slabs and equipped with channels for the collection of rainwater, conveyed inside a large cistern located under the “pulpitum”.

Behind the pulpitum opens the scenic front, the frons scaenae, consisting of a central semicircular niche, flanked by two other quadrangular ones. According to reconstructive hypotheses and the finds discovered nearby, the frontescena of the theatre in Gubbio must have been closed with a colonnade on at least two levels in Corinthian style, enriched with friezes, cornices and sculptures in white travertine, Luni marble and polychrome marble, and decorated with painted plasters.

View of the Roman Theatre of Gubbio in the corner between the cavea and the orchestra

Roman Theatre of Gubbio

View from the orchestra of the interior of the Roman theatre of Gubbio with the cavea covered by the steps and, at the back, part of the upper archway

Interior of the Roman theatre of Gubbio

View of the exterior of the Roman theatre of Gubbio with the remains of the two tiers covered with dressed limestone stones

Roman Theatre of Gubbio

The theatre of Gubbio after the Roman period

Following the disintegration of the Roman Empire, the city of Gubbio went through a period of crisis: it was first damaged by Totila's Goths and later partially devastated by the Lombards.

In the 6th century, the city came under Byzantine influence, and the theatre was probably transformed into a fortified garrison for the defence of Gubbio, which, like many other important Umbrian centres, was located along the important and crucial road axis connecting Rome and Ravenna.

The complex was referred to as Palatium, Parilasio/Perolasio or Rocca, names that suggest the reuse of the theatre structures for strategic and defensive purposes. Excavations conducted at the end of the 18th century revealed, in fact, the remains of imposing masonry and wooden structures, traces of fire and human bones inside the theatre. Art historian Sebastiano Ranghiasci Brancaleoni interpreted this set of findings as confirmation of the building's transformation into a fortress founded in Byzantine times and destroyed in 772 AD during Desiderio’s conquest of Gubbio.

In the 13th century, a monastery dedicated to Mary called of Pallagio was built on the ruins of the theatre, remaining in place until the 16th century. Later, Pope Leo X ordered the transfer of the cult and planned to build a second fortress on the site, but the work was never completed due to the financial difficulties of the enterprise and the death of the pontiff.

From the moment the construction of the fortress was halted, the archways and cavea of the theatre housed residential structures, arranged according to a development reflecting the semicircular structure of the complex.

As early as the 15th century, however, the archaeological area of Guastuglia was the object of significant attention, especially thanks to the fortuitous discovery in 1444 of the famous Eugubine Tablets, seven bronze tablets preserved in the Museo Civico of Palazzo deiConsoli containing the longest and most important written text in the Umbrian language, which were found right near the theatre.

Since then, interest in the archaeological area of Roman Gubbio and the Roman theatre has grown considerably. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the theatre underwent numerous interventions aimed at its protection, conservation and restoration, which have allowed it to survive to the present day, and recently to restore its original function as a place of entertainment, where numerous theatrical performances are held.

For more information, please visit the webpage about the Roman Theatre of Gubbio.

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