Odeon description and photos - Italy: Taormina (Sicily) (Topic)

Odeon description and photos - Italy: Taormina (Sicily). Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Odeon.

Photo and description

The Odeon is a small theater in Taormina, built of adobe bricks during the Roman era by order of the Emperor Caesar Augustus Octavian. Only in the 19th century, its ruins were discovered by archaeologists and restored - today this monument of antiquity is one of the main tourist attractions of the city.

There is no doubt about the origin of the Odeon - this word, by the way, literally means "little theater". It was built by the Romans when Taormina became a military colony of the empire in the 3rd century BC. In terms of its size, it is significantly inferior to another structure of antiquity - the ancient Greek theater, but its very presence in the city speaks of how important culture was for local residents.

The ruins of the Odeon can be seen just behind the hill, named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria from Egypt, not far from the medieval palace of Palazzo Corvaja. They were accidentally discovered in July 1892, and until that moment, their existence was not even suspected! The story of the find is quite unusual: a blacksmith named Antonio Bambara was cultivating his plot of land, located behind the church of St. Catherine, when his pickaxe hit a red brick structure. A year later, real archaeological excavations began on this site, and the Odeon, seriously damaged in some parts, was recovered after several centuries of neglect.

The architecture of the Roman theater is almost identical to the architecture of another theater in Taormina - the ancient Greek one. The latter faces south, while the Odeon faces northeast. As stated above, the theater is built of bricks mixed with limestone. Its layout follows the layout of other Roman theaters: the building is divided into three main sections - the stage, the auditorium and the cavea. The stage consists of a stylobate - the upper step on which the bases of the columns rest, and the actual colonnade from the ancient Greek temple (according to some historians dedicated to Aphrodite). In addition to theatrical performances, the small Odeon, standing right in the middle of the polis, hosted musical shows, and also performed here rulers, important officials, military and religious ministers.

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Topic: Odeon description and photos - Italy: Taormina (Sicily).