12 Sep

The Teatro di Marcello is an ancient open-air theatre, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic.  At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances of drama and song.  It was named after Marcus Marcellus, Emperor Augustus’s  nephew, who died five years before its completion.    Here you see  current day ruins near Teatro Marcello with Piranesi’s  section etching.  But these scattered, chipped, stained, remains are physical artifacts of what used to be a magnificent building meeting the ground.  But now what meets the ground are reminiscence of Teatro di Marcello.  For locals it creates a short cut from a busy street (Via del Teatro Marcello) and housing directly above the teatro, for visitors it is a visual reminder of what was there thousands of years ago.  There are so many buildings in Roma, but very few have broken visual reminders and these stones now meet the ground.