Ancient theatre of Taormina

The ancient theatre of Taormina (Italian: Teatro antico di Taormina) is an ancient Greek theatre in Taormina, Sicily, Italy, built in the third century BC. It is the second largest ancient theatre on Sicily after the Greek Theatre of Syracuse and ranks among the most celebrated archaeological sites on the island due to its remarkable preservation and spectacular setting. Though begun as a Hellenistic Greek structure, the theatre visible today is largely a Roman rebuilding and remodelling, adapted in the second century AD for arena spectacles. The site continues to function as a cultural venue, most notably hosting the annual Taormina Film Festival.

A Hellenistic theatre stood at Taormina from around the third century BC, constructed by Greek colonists from Syracuse under the rule of Hiero II. The remains of this earlier Greek structure have been found beneath the Roman cavea. Under Roman rule, the theatre was rebuilt, probably during the reign of Hadrian or Trajan. In the second century AD, it was extensively remodelled into an arena: the orchestra was turned into an arena floor, the stage was removed, and the spectator seating was considerably enlarged. A high podium was added to protect spectators, and an underground corridor allowed gladiators and animals to enter the arena. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the theatre fell into decay and suffered damage from wars and invaders. During the eighteenth century, it became a fixture on the Grand Tour itinerary for wealthy young Europeans. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited on 7 May 1787 and described it in his Italienische Reise, noting how the mild atmosphere softened the appearance of distant Mount Etna. In the nineteenth century, the stage building was partially reconstructed, with marble columns erected between 1835 and 1840. The theatre has since served as a setting for major cultural and political events, including the G7 summit in 2017.

The ancient theatre of Taormina is not a museum collection in the conventional sense but an archaeological monument whose holdings consist of the architectural fabric itself and associated archaeological finds. The site preserves significant remains from both its Greek and Roman phases, with the visible structure being predominantly Roman. Adjacent to the theatre stands the Antiquarium, a small archaeological museum. However, the majority of excavated archaeological materials from the site are not housed locally but are distributed among the museums of Naples, Messina, and Syracuse. The Antiquarium does retain some notable pieces, including a marble base with an inscription recording that Tauromenion achieved a victory in the horse race at the ancient Olympic Games.

The most significant holding of the site is the theatre structure itself, with its diameter of 107 to 109 metres and capacity for approximately 5,400 spectators in Roman times (reduced to about 4,500 in modern configurations with added seating). The cavea were divided into nine sections. On either side of the skene stood a basilica. The Roman stage building featured a two-storey facade with niches that once held statues and projecting columns. The theatre is one of the oldest in Magna Graecia to have curved cavea rather than the older trapezoidal design. The Antiquarium preserves a marble inscribed base commemorating an Olympic victory in horse racing by a citizen of Tauromenion. In terms of cultural patrimony, the site holds significance as the model for the first officially built Greek theatre in the United States, constructed at Point Loma in San Diego and now part of the California Western University campus.

The theatre measures 120 metres in length, 50 metres in width, and 20 metres in height, oriented toward the southwest. Because it was built upon an older Greek theatre, it is embedded into the hillside, unlike typical freestanding Roman theatres. The seating steps were partially carved into existing rock. The lowest row of seats has a radius of 62 metres, while the uppermost row extends to 147 metres. The Romans added two porticoes at the top of the cavea, one external with vaults and one internal with arcades, and enlarged the cavea significantly. The stage building, constructed of brick in Roman times, presents a two-storey show facade with niches and columns. A roughly ten-metre-wide opening in the centre of the stage now frames views of Mount Etna and the Bay of Giardini-Naxos. Spectators enjoy panoramas of the Ionian Sea, Mount Etna, and on clear days, views extending to Catania. Between 1886 and 1888, Gustav Klimt incorporated motifs from the ancient theatre of Taormina into his ceiling painting for the Feststiege staircase of the Burgtheater in Vienna.

The ancient theatre of Taormina is located in Taormina, in the metropolitan city of Messina on the east coast of Sicily, Italy. It is situated near the town centre, east of the promontory. The site is owned and managed as part of Italy's cultural heritage, with information available through the regional website (http://dati.beniculturali.it/mibact/luoghi/www.regione.sicilia.it). Since the 1950s, the theatre has been used for cultural events during the summer months, including theatrical and musical performances. It serves as the primary venue for the annual Taormina Film Festival, which from 1957 until the late 1970s hosted the David di Donatello film awards; the Nastro d'Argento film prizes are also presented there. The theatre has appeared extensively in popular culture, notably in Woody Allen's 1995 film Mighty Aphrodite, in which F. Murray Abraham appears repeatedly onstage as the leader of a Greek chorus, and in season 2, episode 2 of the HBO series The White Lotus (2023).