Church of Santa Caterina in Taormina, 2005
The Greco-Roman Theatre in Taormina, March 2005
View from the Theatre at Taormina, 2005
View Of Giardini-Naxos From the Theatre in Taormin…
Library in Taormina, 2005
Library in Taormina, 2005
Scenic Restaurant Near the Clocktower in Taormina,…
Clocktower in Taormina, 2005
Virgin & Child Mosaic in Taormina, 2005
The Greco-Roman Theatre in Taormina, March 2005
Street in Taormina, March 2005
The Exterior of the Duomo, or Cathedral, of Taormi…
Piazza del Duomo and Fountain in Taormina, 2005
The Interior of the Duomo, or Cathedral, of Taormi…
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The Baroque Church of San Giuseppe in Taormina, 20…
Porta Catania Gate in Taormina, 2005
Street and the Porta Catania Gate in Taormina, Mar…
Arabic-Style Hotel in Taormina, March 2005
View from Taormina, March 2005
View from Taormina, March 2005
Terracotta Lekanis with a Lid and Finial in the Me…
View of the Landscape Surrounding the Site of Morg…
View of the Landscape Surrounding the Site of Morg…
View of the Landscape Surrounding the Site of Morg…
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Tree & Ancient Greek Theatre in Morgantina, March…
Hellentistic House in Morgantina, 2005
Dog & Hellenistic House in Morgantina, 2005
Cacti Near Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Interior of Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Interior of Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Interior of Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Interior of Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
Interior of Temple E at Selinunte, 2005
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Columns and Triglyphs of Temple E at Selinunte, 20…
View of the Acropolis from Temple E at Selinunte,…
Fragments of Temples E, F, & G at Selinunte, 2005
Fragments of Temple F at Selinunte, 2005
Fragments of Temple F at Selinunte, 2005
Standing Column and Fragments of Temple F at Selin…
Triglyph and Fragments of Temple F at Selinunte, 2…
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On the Acropolis of Selinunte, 2005
The Remains of Temple C on the Acropolis of Selinu…
Remains of Punic Houses on the Acropolis of Selinu…
Byzantine Gold Bracelet in the Metropolitan Museum…
Ivory Box in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Febru…
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Heraclea Minoa, 2005
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Interior of the Church of Santa Caterina, 2005
The Sicilian Folklore Museum in Taormina, March 20…
Puppets in the Sicilian Folklore Museum in Taormin…
Street in Taormina, March 2005
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Street in Taormina, March 2005
Sicilian Ceramics Store Window in Taormina, March…
Street in Taormina, March 2005
Street with Stairs in Taormina, March 2005
View of Naxos from Taormina, March 2005
View of Castelmola from Taormina, March 2005
Roman Remains in Taormina, March 2005
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Terracotta Lidded Vase from Centuripe in the Metro…
Terracotta Bust of a Woman in the Metropolitan Mus…
Terracotta Bust of a Woman in the Metropolitan Mus…
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The Greco-Roman Theatre in Taormina, March 2005
Is it Greek or Roman?
This is a question that has always been open to debate among experts and critics. All their disputes would end if they remembered Taormina's origins as a Greek "Polis" and the fact that each and every ancient Greek city had its own Theatre where they performed tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and comedies by Aristophanes, just to name the most famous authors.
The Theatre in Taormina is the second-largest in Sicily after the one in Siracusa. All the Romans did later, in accordance with their well-known ostentatious nature, was enlarge the theatre as it was very small. And it apparently took decades to build. It is fifty metres wide, one hundred and twenty metres long and twenty metres high, which means that about 100,000 cubic metres of stone had to be removed.
Further evidence that the Theatre is of Greek origin is in the well-cut biocks of Taormina stone (similar to marble) below the scene of the Theatre; these are a typical example of the ancient Greek building technique.
The theatre is divided into three main sections: the scene, the orchestra and the cavea. The scene is opposite the cavea and is obviously where the actors used to perform.
There is now a large ten-metre long portion missing in the centre of the scene, supposedly caused by attacks during the wars. This serious damage to the theatre makes it nevertheless even more evocative due to the magnificent panorama (the bay of Naxos and Mount Etna) which can now be seen.
According to reconstructions by experts, the scene was decorated with two series of columns of the Corinthian order, recognizable due to the shape of the capitals and their acanthus leaf design; the acanthus is a wild Mediterranean plant. The orchestra of the theatre was the flat clearing in the centre which separated the scene from the cavea. This area was for the musicians, but the choruses and dancers also performed there. The word "orchestra", nowadays meaning a musical band, comes from this part of the Greek theatre. The cavea on the other hand is the series of steps, from the lowest to the highest ones at the top, where the spectators were seated. The first and last semicircular steps were 62 and 147.34 metres long respectively. The steps were carved out of the rock and, in places where there was none, they were built in masonry. The cavea was divided into five areas called "diazòmata" by the Greeks and "praecinctiones" by the Romans, both meaning enclosed zones. And these were where the audience used to sit. The theatre is thought to have been able to seat about 5,400 spectators.
No one is sure of when the Theatre was actually erected. Those who believe it was built by the Greeks say it must have been around the middle of the third century B.C., when Hiero was the tyrant of Siracusa. But due to the theatre's structural characteristics, some say it was erected by Roman engineers to be used exclusively by the Greeks. This wouid explain all the Greek inscriptions inside the theatre. Nowadays the ancient
Theatre is still one of Taormina's main attractions. As it is still practicable, the theatre seated the audiences of the most important Italian cinematographic event, the "David di Donatello" award, for many years; now an international festival entitled "Taormina Art", lasting the whole summer period, is held there with cinema, theatre, ballet and symphonic music reviews.
Text from: www.taormina-ol.it/taormina/taormina_04.htm
This is a question that has always been open to debate among experts and critics. All their disputes would end if they remembered Taormina's origins as a Greek "Polis" and the fact that each and every ancient Greek city had its own Theatre where they performed tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and comedies by Aristophanes, just to name the most famous authors.
The Theatre in Taormina is the second-largest in Sicily after the one in Siracusa. All the Romans did later, in accordance with their well-known ostentatious nature, was enlarge the theatre as it was very small. And it apparently took decades to build. It is fifty metres wide, one hundred and twenty metres long and twenty metres high, which means that about 100,000 cubic metres of stone had to be removed.
Further evidence that the Theatre is of Greek origin is in the well-cut biocks of Taormina stone (similar to marble) below the scene of the Theatre; these are a typical example of the ancient Greek building technique.
The theatre is divided into three main sections: the scene, the orchestra and the cavea. The scene is opposite the cavea and is obviously where the actors used to perform.
There is now a large ten-metre long portion missing in the centre of the scene, supposedly caused by attacks during the wars. This serious damage to the theatre makes it nevertheless even more evocative due to the magnificent panorama (the bay of Naxos and Mount Etna) which can now be seen.
According to reconstructions by experts, the scene was decorated with two series of columns of the Corinthian order, recognizable due to the shape of the capitals and their acanthus leaf design; the acanthus is a wild Mediterranean plant. The orchestra of the theatre was the flat clearing in the centre which separated the scene from the cavea. This area was for the musicians, but the choruses and dancers also performed there. The word "orchestra", nowadays meaning a musical band, comes from this part of the Greek theatre. The cavea on the other hand is the series of steps, from the lowest to the highest ones at the top, where the spectators were seated. The first and last semicircular steps were 62 and 147.34 metres long respectively. The steps were carved out of the rock and, in places where there was none, they were built in masonry. The cavea was divided into five areas called "diazòmata" by the Greeks and "praecinctiones" by the Romans, both meaning enclosed zones. And these were where the audience used to sit. The theatre is thought to have been able to seat about 5,400 spectators.
No one is sure of when the Theatre was actually erected. Those who believe it was built by the Greeks say it must have been around the middle of the third century B.C., when Hiero was the tyrant of Siracusa. But due to the theatre's structural characteristics, some say it was erected by Roman engineers to be used exclusively by the Greeks. This wouid explain all the Greek inscriptions inside the theatre. Nowadays the ancient
Theatre is still one of Taormina's main attractions. As it is still practicable, the theatre seated the audiences of the most important Italian cinematographic event, the "David di Donatello" award, for many years; now an international festival entitled "Taormina Art", lasting the whole summer period, is held there with cinema, theatre, ballet and symphonic music reviews.
Text from: www.taormina-ol.it/taormina/taormina_04.htm
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