The Theatre in Taormina
is the second-largest in Sicily
after the one in Siracusa.
All the Romans did later,
in accordance with their well-known
ostentatious nature, was enlarge
the theatre as it was very
small. And it apparently took
decades to build.
It is fifty metres wide,
one hundred and twenty metres
long and twenty metres high,
which means that about 100,000
cubic metres of stone had
to be removed.
Further evidence that the
Theatre is of Greek origin
is in the well-cut biocks
of Taormina stone (similar
to marble) below the scene
of the Theatre; these are
a typical example of the ancient
Greek building technique.
The theatre is divided into
three main sections: the scene,
the orchestra and the cavea.
The scene is opposite the
cavea and is obviously where
the actors used to perform.
Seen from Santuario "Madonna
della Rocca" there is
now a large ten-metre long
portion missing in the centre
of the scene, supposedly caused
by attacks during the wars.
This serious damage to the
theatre makes it nevertheless
even more evocative due to
the magnificent panorama (the
bay of Naxos and Mount Etna)
which can now be seen.
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