Roman Theatre of Orange

About this place

The Roman Theatre of Orange is a Roman theatre in Orange, Vaucluse, France. It was built early in the 1st century AD The structure is owned by the municipality of Orange and is the home of the summer opera festival, the Chorégies d'Orange. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman theatres, and served the Roman colony of Arausio which was founded in 40 BCE Playing a major role in the life of the citizens, who spent a large part of their free time there, the theatre was seen by the Roman authorities not only as a means of spreading Roman culture to the colonies, but also as a way of distracting them from all political activities. Follow the relationship between the audience area and the performance space. The layout reveals how builders gathered a crowd and focused its attention, connecting the surviving monument with the people who once came here for shared public entertainment.