Roman Theatre of Lisbon

Olisipo, Roman Lisbon, had a theatre on the slope below the castle, built in the first century under Augustus and remodelled under Nero, seating perhaps five thousand. It was buried and forgotten until the clearance after the 1755 earthquake exposed part of it, and it was then largely covered again by rebuilding; systematic excavation came only in the 1960s and after, with the site opened as a museum in stages. What is visible is a portion of the cavea seating, the orchestra and parts of the stage building, sunk below the level of the modern street with houses standing directly over the rest - which is the point, since the theatre lies under a working neighbourhood and can never be fully uncovered. The museum in the adjoining buildings shows finds and explains the Roman city, with a view down onto the excavated area.

Highlights

• The excavated seating - part of the cavea and orchestra below street level.
• The buried remainder - the rest of the theatre under standing houses.
• The museum - finds and interpretation of Roman Olisipo in adjoining buildings.
• The rediscovery - exposed by the 1755 clearance, excavated only from the 1960s.

When to go

Year-round. One hour. Closed Mondays. It sits on the walk between the cathedral and the castle, so it fits into that route.

Good to know

Only a fraction of the theatre is visible and it is fragmentary - visitors expecting a Roman theatre in the Mediterranean sense will be disappointed. The site is small. Steep streets on the approach. Signage is fuller in Portuguese.

Nearby

The cathedral is below; the castle of São Jorge is above.