The Teatro di Marcello (Via del Teatro di Marcello, Rome, adjacent to the Capitoline Hill, 500m south of Piazza Venezia, 300m from the Synagogue and the Jewish Ghetto): the ancient Roman theater that Julius Caesar began and Augustus completed in 13 BC, dedicating it to his nephew Marcellus who had died at 19 in 23 BC, the specific biographical sadness of the dedication (the theater that the emperor named for the nephew whose premature death had eliminated Augustus's preferred successor) is the specific human story behind the most visible surviving Roman theater structure in the world.
The Teatro di Marcello urban biography: the 2,000-year history of the building's uses (Roman theater from 13 BC to approximately the 4th century AD. Stone quarry and warehouse from the 5th to the 10th century AD. Medieval fortress of the Fabii family in the 10th century. Orsini family fortress in the 12th-14th century, the specific reuse of the massive Roman structure as a defensive castle whose round tower built on the curved theater wall is still visible. Renaissance palace of the Savelli family and then the Orsini in the 16th century, the residential palace that Baldassarre Peruzzi designed into the upper section of the Roman theater framework) is the most complete single-building documentation of how Rome has continuously repurposed its ancient fabric throughout the centuries of its history.
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Teatro di Marcello: Architecture, History, and Concerts
The Architecture
Teatro di Marcello architecture (the two surviving tiers of the original three-tier semicircular theater, the Doric tier at the base and the Ionic tier above, with the Renaissance palace of the Savelli/Orsini family visible in the upper section where the original third tier once stood): the specific Teatro di Marcello architectural lesson for the understanding of the Colosseum (built 70-80 AD, sixty years after the Teatro di Marcello): the Colosseum's facade design (the three tiers of arches in Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian order, with the continuous cornice between each tier) is the direct development of the Teatro di Marcello's two-tier facade, the same architectural vocabulary applied to the elliptical amphitheater form sixty years after the semicircular theater form. The Teatro di Marcello is, in architectural terms, the sketch for the Colosseum.
Teatro Marcello: tours & tickets
Compare guided tours, skip-the-line tickets and day trips for Teatro Marcello.
See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.Summer Concerts
The Teatro di Marcello summer concert season (the Concerti del Tempietto, the annual classical music concert series organized under the arches and in the archaeological space of the Teatro di Marcello from June through October): the specific Teatro di Marcello concert experience (the string quartet playing chamber music in the Roman theater arches, the audience in the outdoor seating between the ancient columns, and the specific acoustic quality of the Roman semicircular theater, the acoustic that the ancient Romans designed for unamplified performance) is one of the most atmospherically specific classical music experiences available anywhere in Europe. Check tempietto.it for the 2026 concert program. Admission approximately €15-25.
Q&A: Teatro di Marcello
Can I enter the Teatro di Marcello interior?
The Teatro di Marcello is partially residential (the Renaissance Orsini palace on the upper section has been converted to private residences) and partially archaeological: the exterior and the archaeological area around the base are freely accessible from the public street (Via del Teatro di Marcello). The interior archaeological sections are accessible during the Concerti del Tempietto concert events (the concert audience enters the archaeological space as part of the concert experience) and on specific open days organized by the Rome municipality. The standard visit: the exterior circuit (15 minutes, free) from Via del Teatro di Marcello, observing the two tiers of arches, the column fragments from the ancient portico, and the specific contrast between the Roman base and the Renaissance palace above.
Internal Links
- Roma Antica: Il Teatro di Marcello nel Circuito
- Concerti del Tempietto: La Musica nelle Rovine
- Ghetto Romano: Teatro Marcello e la Comunità Ebraica
- Roma Estiva: I Concerti nel Teatro di Marcello
- Fotografare il Teatro di Marcello: Gli Archi e il Tramonto
- Architettura Romana: Dal Marcello al Colosseo
- Teatro Marcello: Ingresso Libero e Orari
