The theatre that became a palace

Marcellus was the nephew and son-in-law of the emperor Augustus and died young, and the semicircular structure with its rows of arches that was named after him has lived at least three more lives since.

It was finished around 13 BC, about fifteen thousand spectators could fit inside, and it became the model for later theatres across the empire, the Colosseum among them.

Once the performances stopped it became a quarry, then a fortress held by noble Roman families, and in the sixteenth century the Savelli family built a residential palace on top of it. That palace is still standing, and the upper floors today hold ordinary apartments, which means people live here inside a building two thousand years old.

The arches at street level sit a few metres below the road, because the city around it was raised over time while the theatre kept sinking into its own foundations.

The Colosseum that was modelled on it stands ten minutes away, with the whole ancient city around it, on the walk through the ancient heart. And the bridge beside the theatre puts you on the island in a few paces, where the walk through Trastevere comes by.

This is the end of this walk.

From here it is five minutes back to Piazza Mattei: we take Via Montanara, keep to the left, and the fountain stands in front of you again.