Theatre of Pompey, Roman theatre in Campo Marzio, Italy
The Theatre of Pompey was a Roman theatre with a semicircular seating area roughly 150 meters across that held around 17,500 spectators. Multiple arched entrances led into the seating area, while a columned gallery behind the stage provided shelter from the weather.
Pompey built this theatre in 55 BC as Rome's first permanent stone structure of its kind and placed a temple to Venus at the top of the seating to address religious concerns. Julius Caesar was assassinated in an adjoining senate hall in 44 BC.
The remains lie hidden beneath modern buildings today, and some basement vaults still trace the curved shape of the original outer wall. In the street layout between Campo de' Fiori and Torre Argentina, visitors can follow this distinctive arc.
The foundations of this building rest in the basements of several noble palaces between Campo de' Fiori and Torre Argentina and are accessible only during special guided tours. Visitors can trace the semicircular shape of the structure by following the street layout above ground.
The complex included a large granite hall that extended toward the sacred area and offered audiences shelter between performances. This covered gallery connected the stage to a garden and represented an early version of a public foyer space.
Location: Rome
Inception: 55 BCE
Official opening: 56
Part of: Regio IX Circus Flaminius
GPS coordinates: 41.89528,12.47361
Latest update: December 8, 2025 08:20
This collection documents major buildings that have disappeared throughout history. It includes religious structures such as the 15th-century Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, whose glazed bricks gleamed in sunlight, as well as destroyed palaces, theaters, and public buildings from various periods and continents. Among the lost structures are the Colossus of Rhodes, the Temple in Jerusalem, the Great Buddhas of Bamiyan, the Berlin Wall, and the World Trade Center. The reasons for the disappearance of these structures range from warfare to natural disasters to deliberate demolition for urban redevelopment. The Palais du Trocadéro in Paris was demolished in 1937 to make way for the current Palais de Chaillot. The Crystal Palace in London burned down in 1936. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsed in 1940, just months after opening. This compilation provides insight into lost architectural achievements and the historical circumstances of their disappearance.
Campo de' Fiori
128 m
Sant'Andrea della Valle
119 m
Statue of Giordano Bruno
123 m
Curia of Pompey
115 m
Palazzo del Monte di Pietà
149 m
Santa Barbara dei Librai
53 m
Abbot Luigi
114 m
Temple of Neptune
90 m
Portico of Pompey
45 m
Palazzo Orsini Pio Righetti
55 m
Santa Maria in Grottapinta
11 m
Temple of Fortuna Equestris
119 m
San Biagio dell'Anello
134 m
Palazzo Monte di Pietà
87 m
San Martino ai Pelamantelli
125 m
Temple of Venus Victrix
62 m
Fontana del Palazzo del Monte di Pietà
142 m
Monumento a Cola di Rienzo
95 m
Campo de' Fiori street market
101 m
Sant'Andrea della Valle
119 m
Fountain
144 m
Fountain
84 m
Fountain
54 m
Fountain
121 m
Fountain
90 m
Fountain
43 m
Musja
56 m
ROM_58
77 mReviews
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