Théâtre Antique (Ancient Theater)

Théâtre Antique (Ancient Theater) Review

Directly up Rue de la Calade from Place de la République, you'll find these ruins built by the Romans under Augustus in the first century BC. It's here that the noted Venus of Arles statue, now in the Louvre, was dug up and identified. The theater was once an entertainment venue that held 20,000 people, and is now a pleasant, park-like retreat. None of the amphitheater's stage walls and only one row of arches remain; its fine local stone was used to build early Christian churches. Only a few vestiges of the original stone benches are left, along with the two great Corinthian columns. Today it's a concert stage for the Festival d'Arles, in July and August, and site of the Recontres Internationales de la Photographie (Photography Festival) from early July to mid-September.