The Silence Stages

Since 2005 I have been visiting more than 430 ancient greek and roman theatres around 18 countries, taking photographs and information. These blog is dedicated to all that experience.



Desde 2005 he visitado más de 430 teatros y odeones, griegos y romanos en 18 países, tomando fotografías y recopilando información. Este blog está dedicado a toda esta experiencia.



Saturday 24 September 2011

Notion (Ahmetbeyli)

NOTION (Ahmetbeyli), ancient Ionia / Asia Minor, modern Turkey.

COORDIANATES: 37º59’37.00’’N // 27º12’03.27’’E
TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Urban.
DATE: II B.C.
TRANSFORMATIONS: Cavea was restored in imperial roman times.
CAPACITY: 4.000 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing west. 64 m. diameter. Rest on natural slop, partially carved on rock . Bigger than semicircle. Maenianum. There are 27 visible row of seats, ima cavea with 9 cunei and summa with 11.
ORCHESTRA:
STAGE BUILDING: Rectangular shape, 25 x 6,5 m. Facade with five thymorata.
LOCATION: 4 klm. south from modern Ahmetbeyli, 2 klm. south from ancient Claros, 18 klm west from ancient Epheso.
MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Yilmaz, Yasar; “Anadolu Antik Tiyatrolari”. Istanbul, Yem Yanin, 2010. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995. //  Bean, George; “Aegan Turkey”. London, Ernst Benn, 1972.


OUT OF PRINT: First time I visited Notion´s ancient theatre I felt like a ballet dancer, I had to cross a muddy field strewn. I tried to be light, by a pathetic jumps that were too far from the weightless... I suppose that, Notion ancient people, in their theatre, saw, more than once, graceful and beautiful dances... that day I was crowned in the silence theatre, but not with laurels for poets, I had a different present... muddy boots, heavy as hell.

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Termantia Therme (Tiermes)

TERMANTIA THERME (Tiermes), ancient Tarraconensis, modern Spain.
  
COORDINATES: 41º19’46.67’’N // 3º08’48.20’’O
TIPOLOGY: Iberan or Roman Theatron.
DATE: I a.C or I d.C.
TRANSFORMATIONS:
CAPACITY: 2.000 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing south. It´s rectilinear but it has not a regular shape. The theatre is carved on rock, but there are remains of masonry for a second maeniana. Ima cavea with 9 rows of seats, buy unknown rows in summa. The theatre was used for public or religious propose. There´s a drainage system, consisting of several channels carved on the rock. In summer the rock cavea is used for performances.
ORCHESTRA: An open area, trapezoidal, 200 x 80 m.
STAGE BUILDING: There´s no traces of it.
LOCATION: Close to “Sun gate”


OUT OF PRINT: It´s said that Salvador Dalí was inspired by the topography of Cadaqués to paint his creations. I say that he probably knew the cavea of Tiermes, or maybe he was the sculptor of the rows of seats.

Sunday 11 September 2011

Scolacium (Squillace)

SCOLACIUM (Squillace), ancient Regio III, modern Italy.

COORDINATES: 38º48’24.61’’N // 16º35’40.71’’E
TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre.
DATE: I A.D. (Julio-Claudian dinasty)
TRANSFORMATIONS: II a.D. (Hadrianic times) in sacaenae frons, podium in media cavea and analemma.
CAPACITY: 3.500 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing West-South-west. 60 m. diameter.  Rest partially on natural slope. Ima cavea was divided in 5 cunei with 6 scalaria, 8 rows of seat are preserved. It has a podium maybe for a statue. Summa cavea rest on two radial corridor vaults, it had 14 or 16 rows of seats.
ORCHESTRA: 19,5 m. including balteus. 3 steps for bisellia.
STAGE BUILDING: Sacenae frons with three doors, all of them in semicircular niches. Proscaenium was rectilinear, 0,85-1 m. high.
LOCATION: Ancient Scolacium is close to modern Roccelletta. The ancient roman theatre is west from forum.
MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Tosi, Giovana; “Gli edificio per spettacoli nell’Italia romana”. Roma, Quasar, 2003. // Courtois, Catherine; “Le bâtiment de scène des théâtres d’Italie et de Sicile”. Providence, Louvain-la.Neuve, 1989. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995.


OUT OF PRINT: The ancient theatre is surrounded by a fence. When you see an exotic animal in a cage you feel sad... you look something extraordinary, unusual but you look at too an indissoluble distance... like a virtual reality. Scolacium ancient theatre is that, of course I understand heritage conservation... but it´s sad, something you can only look at , in the distance, no possibility of touch, like a sacred exotic animal in a jail, a broken animal.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Vienna (Vienne)

VIENNA (Vienne), ancient Gallia Narbonensis, modern France.

COORDINATES: 45º31’29.51’’N // 4º52’43.41’’E.
TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.
DATE: Last I B.C. or first I A.D.
TRANSFORMATIONS: Proscaenium was built in II A.D.
CAPACITY: 10.000 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing west – northwest. 130,4 m. diameter. Buily against hillside, all the cavea was accessible from vomotoria and annular passage system. Maenianum: Ima cavea with 12 rows of seats in 4 cunei; Media cavea with 21 rows in 10 cunei; Summa cavea with 10 rows in 10 cunei, top of it there is an ambulatory. In the middle of the porticus in summa cavea there was a small temple.
ORCHESTRA: 34,7 m. diameter including bisellia –four steps-. Paved in different colors marble.
STAGE BUILDING: Proscaenium -1,33 m. high- with 4 rectangular –two big and two small- rectangular niches and 3 curved; it has remained part of the decoration (lion, satyr heads...). There are aulaeum remains. Pulpitum 72 x 11,3 m. In scaenae frons the regia door is in a large niche with curved sides.
LOCATION: The theatre was built using the natural slope of Colline de Pipet.
MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995. // Grenier, Albert; “Manuel d’archeologie Gallo-Romain”. Paris, Éditions A. Et J. Picard, 1958. // Landes, Christian (Ed.); “Le gout du theatre a Rome et en Gaule romaine”.


OUT OF PRINT: The Roman theatre in Vienna is a fest for the eyes... the colorful marble orchestra, the stunning decorative figures from proscaenium, the inmensity of the cavea... but there is something more extraordinary, when I viewed the cavea from the top of the seats I had a long lost feeling, overwhelming... the same feeling I had when I was a boy, the same feeling I had when I went to football matches at the Santiago Bernabeu,.. an emotional vertigo.

Saturday 3 September 2011

Augusta Bagiennorum (Benevagienna)

AUGUSTA BAGIENNORUM (Benevagienna), ancient Regio IX, modern Italy.

COORDINATES: 44º33’33.34’’N // 7º51’17.67’’E
TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre. Urban.
DATE: Second half II A.D. Maybe Flavian.
TRANSFORMATIONS: It was used till IV a.D.
CAPACITY: 3.000 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing south-west. 57,5 m. diameter. Built over radial and annular substructures. It has been restored in recent times.
ORCHESTRA: 22,2 m. diameter, paved in brick.
STAGE BUILDING: Pulpitum was 40,5 x 7,2 m. Scaenae frons was rectilinear; the porticus post scaenam was a quadriporticus with a temple.
LOCATION: East of forum, north of amphitheatre remains. The ancient theatre is 2 klm. north-east from modern Benevagienna, about 65 klm. south from Torino.
MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Tosi, Giovana; “Gli edificio per spettacoli nell’Italia romana”. Roma, Quasar, 2003. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995.


OUT OF PRINT: Essence, minimalism, structure, function, lines, wind... Augusta Bagiennorum, an ideal place for Bob Wilson´s plays.

Friday 2 September 2011

Stratos (Stratos)

STRATOS (Stratos), ancient Acarnania, modern Greece.

COORDINATES: 38º40’18.43’’N // 21º19’10.44’’E
TIPOLOGY: Greek theatre. Urban.
DATE: Last IV B.C.
TRANSFORMATIONS:
CAPACITY: 5.000 spectators.
CAVEA: Facing south. Built in a low slope. It seems only one maeniana with near 40 rows of seats in 11 cunei; first row with stone back.
ORCHESTRA: Visible remains of I B.C. skene.
STAGE BUILDING: There are remains of the greek scene.
LOCATION: 0,5 klm. north from modern Stratos; 80 klm. south from Arta.
MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995.


OUT OF PRINT: Sometimes the silence is a danger echo, like a mute burst...  the quiet, but fast, movement of a scorpion.