Teatro di Marcello
Title
Subject
Description
Approaching the Teatro di Marcello from the northern portion of the Via del Teatro di Marcello, or perhaps from the Piazza Venezia, it is hard to see anything but the ancient structure, if one does not notice the third and fourth floors. Yet approaching from the southern direction, it is hard to tell that this site is of ancient origins, for it appears to be a large medieval residential building. The teatro was built in the 1st century A.D. as a site of entertainment for the ancient Romans (and, today, it still hosts a summer concert series). The Teatro di Marcello retained its original use for about three and a half centuries, at which point it began to be repurposed. But it remained important -- its ruins constituted one of the major "anchor points" of the geography of medieval Rome and participated in the continued presence of antiquity in the everyday life of the Middle Ages (Krautheimer 187, 243, Brentano 15).
In the Middle Ages, the ruins of the Teatro di Marcello served as an important economic site, hosting a meat market by 998 and a butcher shop that remained at least until the 16th century, as well as neighboring an enormous fish market by the 13th century. Indeed, the agricultural and industrial use of this site continued far longer than one might expect -- a twice-weekly cattle market was held in the teatro even into the 20th century!
By the end of the 11th century, the Pierlioni family had gained control of the area around the Teatro di Marcello and likely fortified the site as a stronghold and mansion. The Pierlioni are believed to have offered support, protection, and the use of their fortified mansion to Pope Urban II (1088-1099) when he was violently threatened by anti-pope factions in Rome (Krautheimer 105). Eventually, the fortress fell to the Orsini family, who built the Renaissance-era Palazzo Orsini that is still highly visible today. Throughout these chaotic transitions in ownership and moments of factional violence between families, the Teatro di Marcello remained an important site, not just for its strategic position or its economic functions, but as a place of public memory regarding classical Rome.
Abstract
Creator
Source
Brentano, Robert. Rome before Avignon: A Social History of Thirteenth-Century Rome. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
Krautheimer, Richard. Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Messer, William Stuart. "The New Rome and Archaeology," The Classical Journal Vol. 22, No. 3 (December, 1926): 179-188.
Minchilli, Elizabeth Helman. "Palazzo for Sale in Central Rome," New York Times. Jan. 5, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/greathomesanddestinations/palazzo-for- sale-in-central-rome.html?_r=0 (accessed May 13, 2015).
Identifier
Spatial Coverage
Description
Approaching the Teatro di Marcello from the northern portion of the Via del Teatro di Marcello, or perhaps from the Piazza Venezia, it is hard to see anything but the ancient structure, if one does not notice the third and fourth floors. Yet approaching from the southern direction, it is hard to tell that this site is of ancient origins, for it appears to be a large medieval residential building. The teatro was built in the 1st century A.D. as a site of entertainment for the ancient Romans (and, today, it still hosts a summer concert series). The Teatro di Marcello retained its original use for about three and a half centuries, at which point it began to be repurposed. But it remained important -- its ruins constituted one of the major "anchor points" of the geography of medieval Rome and participated in the continued presence of antiquity in the everyday life of the Middle Ages (Krautheimer 187, 243, Brentano 15).
In the Middle Ages, the ruins of the Teatro di Marcello served as an important economic site, hosting a meat market by 998 and a butcher shop that remained at least until the 16th century, as well as neighboring an enormous fish market by the 13th century. Indeed, the agricultural and industrial use of this site continued far longer than one might expect -- a twice-weekly cattle market was held in the teatro even into the 20th century!
By the end of the 11th century, the Pierlioni family had gained control of the area around the Teatro di Marcello and likely fortified the site as a stronghold and mansion. The Pierlioni are believed to have offered support, protection, and the use of their fortified mansion to Pope Urban II (1088-1099) when he was violently threatened by anti-pope factions in Rome (Krautheimer 105). Eventually, the fortress fell to the Orsini family, who built the Renaissance-era Palazzo Orsini that is still highly visible today. Throughout these chaotic transitions in ownership and moments of factional violence between families, the Teatro di Marcello remained an important site, not just for its strategic position or its economic functions, but as a place of public memory regarding classical Rome.
Creator
Anna Guasco (2016)Source
Brentano, Robert. Rome before Avignon: A Social History of Thirteenth-Century Rome. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
Krautheimer, Richard. Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Messer, William Stuart. "The New Rome and Archaeology," The Classical Journal Vol. 22, No. 3 (December, 1926): 179-188.
Minchilli, Elizabeth Helman. "Palazzo for Sale in Central Rome," New York Times. Jan. 5, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/greathomesanddestinations/palazzo-for- sale-in-central-rome.html?_r=0 (accessed May 13, 2015).