Despite the fact that buildings for spectacle constitute one of the most common themes in Roman architecture, nevertheless they are among the least studied in Hadrian’s Villa. Because these buildings need an exact definition, that is, typology of form and function, we must thus thoroughly review the question, beginning with new hypotheses supported by a rigorous and appropriate methodology. The conventional designations, frequent in the Villa, refer to the buildings as those for spectacle. Here we want to give better definitions for these buildings through an examination of their specific characteristics. The re-examination of this and other problems specifically tied to these buildings for spectacle, has led to geophysical research and a systematic investigation of the land. The first result of this work was to confirm the location of above-mentioned buildings in the peripheral sectors of the Villa, with an almost polar disposition, evident above all in the N-S sector, situated between the “Teatro Greco” and the “Odeon”.

An archaeological approach to the theater and the analysis of its context have permitted interesting and innovative observations that seriously question criteria established earlier. For example, scholars have long believed that this was isolated architecture. Thanks to new research, however, the connection and the interaction of the building with those adjoining or nearby begins to be evident. This possibility itself invites new interpretations, with a view to establishing whether the building existed as a single unit within, or as a composite element of, the context.
(Pilar León)