Discovering a Roman theater with a capacity of 15,000 people

In the process of continuing the excavation of the ruins of the ancient Roman theater under the castle of the City Hall in Florence, Italy, archaeologists discovered a corridor used for the audience. into the theater.

The latest archaeological findings in this archaeological area in the heart of the Tuscany region include a stone-paved walkway with colored painted stones.

This is the entrance for the audience to go from the outside to the theater to the stage and orchestra. The stage and orchestra were discovered during the previous archaeological excavation.

This new archeology also discovered the theater's water supply and drainage line at a depth of 10m from the current surface of Florence.

This theater has a capacity of 15,000 spectators.(Source: ansa.it)

In addition, archaeologists also discovered the remnants of the rest of the wall used to build Salone dei Cinquecento (The Five Hundred Rooms, the largest room, used as a meeting room in Florence City Hall. ).

According to archaeologists, starting with construction, this ancient Roman theater is expected to serve about 7,000 spectators.

At the peak of the prosperous period of the Roman and regional empires in the first and second centuries AD, archaeologists believed that its capacity was up to 15,000 spectators, twice as large. compared to the original plan to allow the audience to enjoy attractive performances in the theater.

The rest of the theater is still in the vast area under the castle of Florence City Hall and Palazzo Gondi castle, with wildlife cages, it is opposite the square Signoria, the square in front of Florence City Hall.

This ancient Roman theater was used until the 5th century before being abandoned and eventually falling forgotten.

However, by the 18th century the ruins of the theater were gradually excavated, brought to light, especially when Florence became the first capital of unified Italy in 1865 as well as when the central area This city is built towards systematic modernization.

Earlier, an archaeological survey of theaters was made in the late 1990s, and a full-scale excavation was conducted in the mid-2004-2010 years.