Greek Theatre of Syracuse
8 May – 5 July
The theatre of Syracuse is among the most famous of the ancient world: designed by the architect Damocopo, named Mirylla, it was built to celebrate the victory of the war of Imora, with the army of Syracuse and that of Agrigento, who have allied themselves to defeat the mighty kingdom of the Carthaginians.
It is located within the Archaeological Park of Neapolis.
The construction technique, the dimensions of the cavea and the orchestra and also the inscriptions have suggested to some researchers to place the construction of the monument between 238 and 215 BC;
The theatre’s cavea is one of the largest in the Greek world and originally counted 67 steps and 9 sectors, with the orchestra delimited by a large canal discovered.
The current plant is the one later transformed in Roman times.
Of the theater is preserved the part carved in the rock of the hill Temenite, while part of the cavea and the monumental remains of the scene of Roman age, have been lost, perhaps because of the reuse of the blocks by the Spanish who would have used it to make the fortifications of Ortigia between 1520 and 1531.
Since 1914 the National Institute of Ancient Drama (INDA) has performed classical theatre performances in the ancient theatre, mainly works of the Greek tragedies of the V century B.C.
This year, at the Greek Theater, will be held the 56th edition of the festival of classical performances, whose shows will be: Le Baccanti (The bacchae), Efigenia in Tauride and Le Nuvole (the clouds) that will be held from 8 May to 5 July 2020 (modified, please contact us for further details)
