Roman Theatre of Turin, Ancient Roman theatre ruins in Turin, Italy

The Roman Theatre of Turin is an ancient Roman structure in the historic center of Turin, where sections of the original stage wall and seating area are still visible above ground. The remaining stone and brick elements show the basic footprint and scale of the building as it stood during the Roman period.

The theatre was built around 13 BC, probably under Augustus, before the city walls were finished, and was one of the first public buildings of the colony. It was rebuilt under the Flavians between AD 70 and 90, when the seating was enlarged to hold 3,000 spectators. After theatrical performances were banned at the end of the 4th century, it became a quarry for the first cathedral, and its remains were unearthed in 1899 during work on Palazzo Reale.

The theatre's remains are visible in two places: outdoors beside Turin Cathedral and in the underground rooms of the adjacent Palazzo Reale, now the Museo di Antichità. A marble inscription there records a contribution from Cozio II or his son Donno, son and grandson of the prefect Marcus Julius Cottius.

The remains are visitable inside the Musei Reali di Torino: the external part stands beside the Duomo di San Giovanni, while other sections lie in the underground rooms of the museum. Access is through the museum, not freely from the street.

The theatre was originally large enough to seat several thousand spectators, which was notable for a city of Augusta Taurinorum's size at the time. You can still trace the curved line of the seating bank in the layout of the remaining walls, which shows how the building was oriented toward the stage.