
Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the "Triumphal Arch" of Orange
N 44° 08.140 E 004° 48.535
31T E 644698 N 4888532
Roman Orange was founded in 35 BC by veterans of the Second Gallica Roman legion as Arausio. The arch, theatre and surroundings were listed in 1981 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Waymark Code: WM2AMQ
Location: France
Date Posted: 10/03/2007
Views: 102
The town is renowned for its Roman architecture and possesses the best preserved Roman theatre in Europe, as well as a particularly fine triumphal arch (Arc de Triomphe D'Orange), both built during the reign of Augustus.
The Roman theatre at Orange was built according to traditional theatre design : tiered seats, an orchestra, stage and stage wall. The most striking feature of the theatre at Orange is the stage wall. Originally it would have been covered with marble slabs and decorated with bas-reliefs, carved friezes, statues in niches and columns. Their purpose was not purely decorative as the projections and cavities in the wall would have helped to eliminate the problem of echoes. The central Royal Door was reserved for the principal actors to make their entrances and exits.
The Roman theater is managed by an organization called Culturespaces which offers an excellent walking audio guide to the theater included in the cost of the admission price. There is no charge to visit the Roman Arch across town.
(some text taken from Wikipedia and the museum web site.)
Type: Site
 Reference number: 163bis

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