Theatre of Ostia Antica
The stage is 35 metres wide and still carries the holes where Roman stagehands once slotted in the scenery. Stand in the orchestra — its marble floor worn smooth — and look up past the tiered cavea toward the high stone pines of the Piazzale delle Corporazioni beyond the scaenae frons, and the geometry of the place makes immediate sense.
Marcus Agrippa built this theatre in the late first century BCE as part of the civic fabric of Rome's working port. It has been a performance space, a cistern for aquatic spectacle, a defensive fortification, and now, on summer evenings, a venue for Plautus and Terence comedies under open sky.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to time a visit for one of the summer theatre productions — Latin comedies performed on the original stage as dusk settles. The nine decorative niches along the proscaenium and the theatrical masks carved into the stonework read entirely differently once you've seen the space in use rather than in silence.
The story behind Theatre of Ostia Antica
Marcus Agrippa laid out the original theatre between 18 and 12 BCE, with a cavea of 63 metres and 21 rows of seats. By the late second century AD it had been expanded to hold somewhere between 4,800 and 6,000 spectators, and in 196 AD Septimius Severus and Caracalla formally rededicated it.
The late fourth century brought a different kind of patron: Ragonius Vincentius Celsus, a grain-supply prefect, renovated the structure and converted sections into cisterns for aquatic exhibitions. Within a century or two, as Gothic pressure mounted, the first-level arches were blocked and the theatre became part of the city's defences. Excavations in 1880–81, 1890, and the early twentieth century uncovered what remained; restoration work in 1913 and 1926 brought it to the condition you walk through today.
Good to know
Take Metro Line B to Piramide, then the Roma Lido train to Ostia Antica — about 35 minutes total. The site is open Tuesday–Sunday; hours run 8:30am–7pm in summer, shorter in winter. Tickets are €18 for adults; free on the first Sunday of the month. Budget at least two hours.
Summer visits mean full sun across the cavea with almost no shade, so bring water and a hat. In winter, expect rain and cold; the mosaics elsewhere on site are covered over for protection, and the shorter opening hours close in around you quickly.
Where is Theatre of Ostia Antica?
More tickets & tours for Theatre of Ostia Antica
Book directly at the provider
What travellers say about Theatre of Ostia Antica
It's the Roman theater of Ancient Ostia. What's not to love? It was built by Agrippa under the reign of Augustus back in the 1st century BC. It was rededicated after it was expanded to 4000 seats in 196 AD. It was the work of Septimius Severus and Caracalla that prompted the rededication per the inscription on the plaque on the theater that still exists today. We weren't able to step inside or step up to the viewing area due to construction and/or restoration. I'm assuming they are fixing the crumbling steps since it's currently used as an amphitheater-type concert venue. I think it would be cool to visit it in the evening as a spectator in a venue. The theater was built to be a part of a corporate complex called Piazzale delle Corporazione. The theater is prominently displayed as you're walking through the square. This is where you can get great photo opportunities during its restoration. We enjoyed our visit here. It's a great way to actually see ancient Roman city life and imagine what is was like in that century.
Such an interesting and well preserved site! Spent about 2 hrs here one morning before our flight and wished we had more time to explore the ruins. We rode on the cart to get to the far end to start for an extra fee, which really expedited our exploration time and was well worth it.
Some very noisy school groups had pretty much cleared off early afternoon, and despite spending over six hours exploring the site, there was still loads more to see. Unlike the Forum in Rome where a ticket grants a single entry, here you have eight days to keep coming back! A great and reasonable cafe onsite too.
It is a great place to enjoy music — especially genres like psychedelic rock. The atmosphere really complements the style of music, creating a unique and immersive vibe. That said, there are a couple of areas that could be improved. The sound quality and acoustics still need some work to truly elevate the listening experience. Also, the lighting setup could be better adjusted — at times it felt a bit harsh and distracting. Overall, it’s a promising venue with great potential, and with a few improvements, it could become a top spot for live music lovers.
Incredible. Needs more than one day. Lots of mosaics are covered this time of year, (March) unfortunately, but many are still available to view. Just wonderful. PS toilets at the cafe were disgusting. So be aware. Hand sanitizer and tissues are a must.
More of Ostia Antica
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Ostia Antica →More attractions in Ostia Antica
All of Ostia Antica →
Background adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ratings & place photos via Google · other photos with per-image credit. Ticket links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.