Orange, Roman Theater

At one time Orange, then named Arausio, had a population of 80,000, but after all those centuries, there are now only about 25,000 residents. The Romans arrived in about 100 BC, and as usual, constructed all kinds of stone buildings and monuments.

Some excavated foundations and the remains of a few old buildings still remain in Orange, but many Roman buildings were used as quarries and their stone used to construct municipal buildings, private homes, and some fortifications.

The theater is known as the best preserved Roman Theater in existence, and is still in use today. The stage wall is 338 feet long and 118 feet high, and Louis XIV pronounced it “… the finest wall in the kingdom.” The seats are built into a hill and in Roman times they were assigned to the various classes of people, from servants to nobility.

To protect the audience from the weather, an awning could be extended over the stage and most of the seats. This was also a feature at the Coliseum in Rome, but they still can’t do that at the Hollywood Bowl. We’ll bet the awning covered the seats for the wealthy, rather than the seats for the servants.

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