The Theater - Segesta
In the third century BC the inhabitants of Segesta built their Theater in the highest peak of the Mount Barbaro, behind the agora that was already a place of worship many centuries ago.
Directed northward, toward the Gulf of Castellammare, it offered as a backdrop a wonderful hilly scenery and a view of the sea. It was built with local limestone blocks. The Greek-Hellenisitc structure is quite different from the typical structure of the Greek theaters because the cavea is not based directly on the rock but was built on purpose and is supported by containment walls.
There are two entrances that are not perfectly in axis with the building. It can contain up to about 4.000 people.
The Cavea - The Cavea is the area where the audience sat and still sit. It has a diameter of 63 meters and is divided into two parts by an aisle, the diazoma. There are therefore two sections, the lower one and the upper one.
In the first section there are 21 rows of seats divided into 7 small different-sized kerkides, by 6 steps.
In the second one there were seats with backs. Just a few traces remain of the stand of the summa cavea.
According to recent searches there was another higher stand between the two entrances, partly reused in the Muslim necropolis (first half of the twelfth century).
To the west of the Theater there is a cobblestone street that goes to a natural cave with a sacred spring. It was used during the Bronze Age and then was annexed by the containment wall of the Cavea.
The Orchestra - The orchestra is the space used by the chorus. It is semicircular and has a diameter of 18,4 meters. There are two openings on the sides of the semicircle, orthogonal to the central axis: the parodoi.
The Segesta theatre has also some underground passages like the Syracuse theatre that were used by the actors to pass from one side of the stage to the other.
The scene - There is not so much of the scene: just a few blocks of a Doric-Ionian building of two storeys. Two sides parts are decorated with satyrs in high relief.
The performances in the ancient Segesta theater
Every summer you can experience the old magic of the Segesta theater thanks to the performances held there.
Very famous actors and emerging ones, classic and modern performances, old dramas, dance shows, opera, operettas and musicals alternate on the stage.
Schedule and prices vary depending on the type of show.
There is a bus service to reach the top of the hill where there is the Theater.
Box office Tel: 0924 953013
For further information: www.calatafimisegesta.tp.it
|
