Teatro Romano
The jewel among Mérida’s ruins, the Roman theater is one of the world’s most important archaeological sites. It was built at the order of the consul Agrippa in 15 b.c. and could seat 6,000 theatergoers. The spectacular stage wall (scaenae frons), featuring Corinthian columns and statues of deities, was added in the2nd century a.d. under Emperor Trajan. The theater lay buried for more than a thousand years, with only its highest rows visible (the so-called Siete Sillas, the seven chairs) until excavations began in the early 20th century under the direction of the archaeologist José Ramón Mélida. The columns on the stage were not fully restored until the 1970s. Today, the theater is the only one of Mérida’s ruins that is still used for its original purpose, hosting a dazzling classical theater festival in summer.
The jewel among Mérida’s ruins, the Roman theater is one of the world’s most important archaeological sites. It was built at the order of the consul Agrippa in 15 b.c. and could seat 6,000 theatergoers. The spectacular stage wall (scaenae frons), featuring Corinthian columns and statues of deities, was added in the2nd century a.d. under Emperor Trajan. The theater lay buried for more than a thousand years, with only its highest rows visible (the so-called Siete Sillas, the seven chairs) until excavations began in the early 20th century under the direction of the archaeologist José Ramón Mélida. The columns on the stage were not fully restored until the 1970s. Today, the theater is the only one of Mérida’s ruins that is still used for its original purpose, hosting a dazzling classical theater festival in summer.
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