Small Roman Theater, Pula

Ancient Pula was no provincial backwater. It had at least three venues for public performances: the amphitheater, a large Roman theater outside the city walls on the slopes of Mount Zaro, and a smaller theater within the walls. The large theater has disappeared over time, but the Small Roman Theater still survives on the hillside below Pula Castle.

Travel back to the 1st century AD and imagine the theater in use. Its stage area included the proscaenium, where performances took place, while the semicircular auditorium contained the seating. The rows of seats were built into the natural slope of the hill, following a design commonly used in ancient Greek and Roman theaters. The venue could accommodate between 4,000 and 5,000 spectators.

That figure may have been close to the entire population of Roman Pula at the time. Much of the theater has since disappeared, and only the foundations of the stage building and part of the semicircular seating area remain.