Spain Guide
Extremadura
Teatro Romano and Anfiteatro
Address: Ten minutes' walk east of the Plaza de España
Opening time: Daily: summer 9.30am–1.45pm & 5–7.15pm; winter 4–6.15pm
Price: Teatro Romano and Anfiteatro €7, Casa Romana €4; combined multi-day ticket to all Mérida's Roman sites €10
The elaborate and beautiful Teatro Romano is one of the best preserved anywhere in the Roman Empire. Constructed around 15 BC, it was a present to the city from Agrippa, as indicated by the large inscription above the passageway to the left of the stage. The stage itself, a two-tier colonnaded affair, is in particularly good shape, and many of the seats have been entirely rebuilt to offer more comfort to the audiences of the annual July and August season of classical plays.
Mérida's main archeological site also contains the adjoining Anfiteatro, a slightly later and very much plainer construction. As many as 15,000 people – almost half the current population of Mérida – could be seated to watch gladiatorial combats and fights with wild animals. The Casa Romana del Anfiteatro, immediately below the museum, offers an approach to it from the site, and holds wonderful mosaics, including a vigorous depiction of grape-treading.