Page 169 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

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VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Emperor Augustus
This 3.5-m (11-ft) statue, with a hand raised in Practical Information
greeting, dominates the stage at the third 1 rue Madeleine Roch. Tel 04 90
level. At its base kneels a figure in breeches, 51 17 60. Open daily. Jan–Feb,
possibly a defeated enemy. Other statues Nov–Dec: 9:30am–4:30pm; Mar,
have been destroyed, but this copy was Oct: 9:30am–5:30pm; Apr, May,
returned to the niche in 1951. Sep: 9am–6pm; Jun–Aug: 9am–
7pm. Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec. (for
occasional shows) & 7 8 =
- 9 ∑ theatre-antique.com

Stage Wall
The inner face of the stage wall (Frons Scaenae)
still bears fragments of marble friezes and
mosaics. A frieze of centaurs framed the
royal doorway in the centre.

Marble Columns
The stage wall had three
levels, the two upper levels
with 76 marble columns, of
which only two remain. The
wall’s many surfaces broke
up sound waves, so that the
actors could speak without
their voices having an echo.

The Great Roman Temple
From 1925–37, excavations took
place to the west of the theatre,
where 22 houses had been pulled
down. They unearthed a vast
semicircle and ruins of a temple.
Together with the theatre, they
would have formed an Augusteum,
an architectural unit devoted to
the worship of Roman emperors.