Theatre of Pompey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Theatre of Pompey (Latin Theatrum Pompeium, Italian: Teatro di Pompeo) is an ancient building in Rome, built around 55 BC, once the world's largest theater. It was also the first permanent (non-wooded) theatre in Rome. Pompey financed this theatre to gain political popularity. It was not only a theatre; the building also had a large central garden decorated with statues of great artists and actors, and a space suitable for holding meetings of the Senate. The theatre was crowned with a temple to Venus Victrix, Pompey's personal deity (compared to Julius Caesar's worship of Venus Genetrix as his personal deity). The whole structure was surrounded by colonnaded porticos recalling classical Greek architecture.

Occasionally , the Roman Senate would meet at the Theatre of Pompey. One such meeting was on the Ides of March, 44 BC. It was during this meeting that Julius Caesar was killed in the large portico attached to the theatre.

The remains of the east side of the Portico attached to the theatre can be seen on the Largo di Torre Argentina. The scarce remains of the theatre itself can be found off the Via di Grotta Pinta underground; vaults from the original theatre can be found in the cellar rooms of restaurants off this street, as well as in the walls of the hotel Albergo Sole al Biscione.