The Roman theatre of Malaga is one of the symbols and the main vestige of the Roman presence in this city. It is the archaeological remains of the theatre of the ancient Malaca.
It is located right in the historic centre of the city and at the foot of the hill on which the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro castles are located.
With the category of Artistic Monument, in 1972, it was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. It is listed as a fully protected site.
The Roman Theatre, a majestic auditorium, dates from the 1st century AD, and was used until the 3rd century. Its mixed construction takes advantage of the hillside to build the tiers, as if they were Greek theatres, and the rest is built on artificial foundations. It was built according to the architectural model established by a Roman architect, Vitruvius.
The Romans used this theatre to stage the comedies and tragedies of the time. It has three distinct parts: the orchestra, the stage and the grandstand, which has retained much of its original structure, due to the use of the hillside to build it.
It is of medium size and preserves a large part of the grandstand (31 metres in radius and 16 metres high with thirteen tiers), the orchestra decorated with marble slabs and the scaena, reconstructed with a wooden planking as it would have been in the past.
In the background we can see an ornamental façade with columns and sculptures, several examples of which have been recovered.
When the Roman Empire fell, the theatre was forgotten and later the Arabs used many pieces of it to reinforce the Alcazaba.
The theatre was discovered in 1951 when the Casa de la Cultura, built ten years earlier, was being remodelled. The work was carried out to create a garden area, but the remains were found, which looked like the gates of the wall that protected the city.
Later, when the excavations continued underneath the Casa de la Cultura, it was determined that it belonged to a theatre building from Roman times.
From that moment on, a period of several decades of excavations and much debate began until the decision was made to demolish the Casa de la Cultura completely in order to give the theatre the value it deserved as part of the city's cultural plans.
Before the theatre, there were baths here from the Republican period, of which part of the floor has been preserved. And then the theatre was built on the structures of these baths, which were moved to another site.
For centuries the theatre was hidden under the streets and buildings that had been built on the hillside, until it came to light in 1951.
Today the Roman theatre is an important archaeological site without equal, and its ownership and administration is the responsibility of the Junta de Andalucía.
To visit it is open from Tuesday to Sunday, with free admission.
In addition to the decision to demolish the Casa de la Cultura, the traffic on Alcazabilla Street was eliminated and a large space was created in front of the theatre monument.
This improved its visibility and visitation. Nowadays this site has been revalued and its interest has been recovered.
Attached to the theatre is the interpretation centre. It was inaugurated in 2010, and is housed in a quadrangular building made of steel, wood and glass, designed by the architect Antonio Tejedor.
Through it you can learn about the life and customs of the Roman period by means of audiovisual techniques. It also contains original pieces found in the excavations.
The exterior is decorated with fragments of the Lex Flavia Malacitana.
Nowadays the theatre has recovered its original use, as it is used for shows.
A very touristic place with a historical and architectural value of relevance that is worth seeing and admiring.
I hope you enjoyed these views as much as I did taking the pictures.
Best regards to all of you and see you next time.
Amonet.
All photographs are my own.
Separators created by me in Photoshop.
Used translator Deepl.com free version.
[//]:# (!pinmapple 36.72120 lat -4.41682 long Roman Theatre of Malaga 📷 Spain d3scr)