Theatre of Balbus

Theatre of Balbus was an ancient Roman structure in the Campus Martius of Rome. It was built in 13 BC by proconsul Lucius Cornelius Balbus (minor), likely from the spoils of a military campaign by order of Augustus (Cassius Dio 54.18.2; Pliny the Elder, Natural History (Pliny) 36.59-60).

Very little is mentioned of the theatre in ancient writings. Its location was debated for decades until pieces of the Forma Urbis were finally pieced together in the 1960s. Excavations of the theatre began in 1981 and are still ongoing, however, the main portion of the crypta finished in 2000. Today what has been excavated can be seen at the Museo Nazionale Romano Crypta Balbi (National Museum of Rome), which is located at Via delle Botteghe Oscure, 31, (corner of Via M. Caetani).

The museum is located in what was the crypta or courtyard in the rear of the theater's complex behind the stage. This courtyard was the smallest of all of Rome's major theatres. Here patrons would stroll between acts of a performance and seek refreshment.

Odeon of Domitian

The Odeon of Domitian was an ancient Roman building on the Campus Martius in Rome, used for plays and musical competitions and with room for an audience of 11,000. Begun by Domitian in imitation of Greek odeons (neighbouring his stadium to its south), it was completed or restored in 106 by Apollodorus of Damascus. The outline of its cavea is still preserved by the façade of the Palazzo Massimo, but the only actual remains is a cipoline monolithic column (possibly part of the stage) just in front of the Palazzo's rear façade.

Theatre of Marcellus

The Theatre of Marcellus (Latin: Theatrum Marcelli, Italian: Teatro di Marcello) is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances of drama and song. Today its ancient edifice in the rione of Sant'Angelo, Rome, once again provides one of the city's many popular spectacles or tourist sites. It was named after Marcus Marcellus, Emperor Augustus's nephew, who died five years before its completion. Space for the theatre was cleared by Julius Caesar, who was murdered before it could be begun; the theatre was so far advanced by 17 BC that part of the celebration of the ludi saeculares took place within the theatre; it was completed in 13 BC and formally inaugurated in 12 BC by Augustus.

The theatre was 111 m in diameter; it could originally hold 11,000 spectators.[1] It was an impressive example of what was to become one of the most pervasive urban architectural forms of the Roman world. The theatre was built mainly of tuff, and concrete faced with stones in the pattern known as opus reticulatum, completely sheathed in white travertine. The network of arches, corridors, tunnels and ramps that gave access to the interiors of such Roman theaters were normally ornamented with a screen of engaged columns in Greek orders: Doric at the base, Ionic in the middle. It is believed that Corinthian columns were used for the upper level but this is uncertain as the theater was reconstructed in the Middle Ages, removing the top tier of seating and the columns.

Like other Roman theaters in suitable locations, it had openings through which the natural setting could be seen, in this case the Tiber Island to the southwest. The permanent setting, the scaena, also rose to the top of the cavea as in other Roman theaters.
 
Theater of Marcellus by night.

The name templum Marcelli still clung to the ruins in 998. In the Early Middle Ages the Teatro di Marcello was used as a fortress of the Fabii and then at the end of the 11th century, by Pier Leoni and later his heirs (the Pierleoni). The Savelli held it in the 13th century. Later, in the 16th century, the residence of the Orsini, designed by Baldassare Peruzzi, was built atop the ruins of the ancient theatre.

Now the upper portion is divided into multiple apartments, and its surroundings are used as a venue for small summer concerts; the Portico d'Ottavia lies to the north west leading to the Roman Ghetto and the Tiber to the south west.

In the 17th century, the renowned English architect Sir Christopher Wren explicitly acknowledged that his design for the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford was influenced by Serlio's engraving of the Theatre of Marcellus.

Theatre of Pompey

The Theatre of Pompey (Latin: Theatrum Pompeium, Italian: Teatro di Pompeo) was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the later part of the Roman Republican era. It was completed in seven years, starting from 61 BC, and was dedicated early in 55 BC before the structure was fully completed. The theatre was one of the first permanent (non-wooden) theatres in Rome.

The building is considered the original Roman theatre. It was the first to be entirely built as a free-standing stone structure without earthen works, as traditionally constructed since the Hellenistic Greek period. Subsequent theatres built within the Republic and Empire copied its form as a template with few changes other than size. The Theatre of Pompey is considered to have been the largest theatre ever built in ancient or modern times.

The theatre's history is long, but is infamous as the place of Julius Caesar's murder by the Liberatores of the Roman Senate and elite.