Théâtre Antique France

Legendary

A remarkably preserved Roman theatre renowned for its towering stage wall and ongoing cultural performances.

Photo by Xiquinho Silva

King Louis XIV of France looked at the back of this theatre and called it "the finest wall in my kingdom." He ruled over the Palace of Versailles, so that was saying something.

The wall stands 37 meters high, about as tall as a 12-story building. It stretches 103 meters long and is nearly 2 meters thick.

What makes it special is that it's still all there. It's the only Roman theatre wall in the Western world that survives at its full original height.

The theatre is in Orange, a town in Provence in southern France that the Romans called Arausio. It was built in the early 1st century AD, during the reign of Emperor Augustus.

Romans came here for plays, poetry readings, and comedy shows. About 9,000 people could sit in the stone seats, which climb up the side of a hill in three tiers.

Building into the hill was clever. The slope held up the seats and saved the builders a lot of work.

The wall wasn't just for show. It sat behind the stage and bounced the actors' voices back toward the crowd, so even people in the top rows could hear.

In Roman times, it was covered in colorful marble, columns, and statues. A wooden roof stretched over the stage to protect it from rain and sun.

That roof burned in a huge fire in the 4th century. Over time, the marble and statues were stripped away.

One statue stands in the center today: a figure of Emperor Augustus, about 3.5 meters tall. Pieces of it were found in the 1930s and restored, though some experts think it may originally have shown the god Apollo.

In 2006, a new glass and steel roof was built over the stage to protect the ancient wall.

UNESCO named the theatre a World Heritage Site in 1981. It's considered the best-preserved Roman theatre in Europe.

Climb to the top row of seats and look down at the stage to see just how big the wall is. Find the statue of Augustus in the center niche, raising his arm over the crowd. Come in summer for the Chorégies d'Orange festival, when opera singers perform on the same stage the Romans used.

Sources: World History Encyclopedia, Chorégies d'Orange, and Wikipedia.