Roman Theater of Catania, Catania (must see)

Although the visible structure dates mainly to the 2nd century AD, the Roman Theater was built directly over an earlier Greek theater. Together with the adjacent Odeon, the complex formed the city’s principal venue for performance and public gatherings. Constructed primarily from lava stone and limestone, the seating rises northward, uphill, while spectators would have looked south toward the stage, orchestra, and the sea beyond.

The elliptical structure measured roughly 330 feet in diameter and could accommodate around 7,000 spectators across twenty-one seating rows, accessed through corridors built beneath the cavea. The smaller Odeon, with a capacity of about 1,500, was reserved for music and poetry competitions and is among the best-preserved examples of its kind in Sicily.

One of the theater’s most impressive features is the Amenano River flowing directly underneath the structure. Buried by the 1669 eruption of Mount Etna, the river still runs below the orchestra, which is why parts of the lower theater are often partially flooded with clear freshwater. After the 5th century AD, the complex fell out of use, and much of its marble seating and columns were stripped during the Middle Ages. Reused in major buildings such as Catania Cathedral, recycled theater columns can still be seen in the apse.

Excavations began in the 18th century under Ignazio Paternò Castello, Prince of Biscari, and continued into the 19th century, but it was only in 1959 that modern houses encroaching on the site were removed, fully exposing the theater and Odeon. Two of those former residences on the north side of the theater, Pandolfo House and Liberti House, remain integrated into the complex today, serving as entrance spaces and small museums displaying statues, marble fragments, and architectural elements found on site.