THEATRE

The ancient theatre of Catania as we see it today is a Roman building. Traces of what may have been an earlier Greek theatre have been found underneath. The Roman theatre was built in the Julio-Claudian period (first half of the first century AD). Most of what is visible belongs to when the theatre was enlarged (a third level of seats and a new stage building) in one or more phases in the Antonine and Severan period (mid-second century to earlier third century AD). Several of the pieces on display in the museum belong to this redevelopment, such as the monumental marble column base from the stage building and the marble dolphin.