Archaeological Museum and Roman Theater: timetables and ticket prices

The Roman Theater and Archaeological Museum of Verona (via Regaste Redentore 2) are part of the same tourist site located on Colle San Pietro, an ideal position to experience Verona. Enjoy the splendid panorama of the city and its river from the terrace of the Museum and imagine the Roman times when the theater occupied the entire side of Colle San Pietro, in front of the Postumio Bridge.

Built around the first half of the 1st century BC. C., Ponte Postumio was initially made of wood to be destroyed in the event of an attack, so to prevent enemies from crossing the Adige river. The bridge was made of stone during the late Republican era, 150 meters further down the Ponte di Pietra, the oldest in the city. Between the two bridges, the Romans had built a dam, to obtain a small lake where to field real naval battles between gladiators. Unfortunately, Ponte Postumio collapsed in 1153 and today remain only the heads that emerge from the Adige in dry periods.

Go to the top of the hill with the historic Verona funicular, which is located near the Roman Theater (via Fontanelle di Santo Stefano 6). It is open from 11.00 to 21.00 (last ride at 8.45 pm) from April to October and from 10.30 to 16.30 from November to March; the cost of the ticket is 2 euro for back and forth. From the square of Castel San Pietro, you can embrace the whole city with your gaze.

There is a rich collection of findings, mosaics and furnishings that testify the daily life of Roman Verona. The collection of Roman glasses is of considerable beauty, some of them are characterized by refined decorations obtained through blow molding: balsamari, jugs, bottles, cups and glasses, olle used as food containers and skyphos used in aristocratic symposia.
The bronze statues for religious, honorary and decorative use, were found in Verona in large quantities, unlike other areas of northern Italy where findings of this type are rather scarce because the bronze was melted and reused to make others objects. Marble statues are rarer as the material came from outside the region and was little used until the 1st century AD. Until that time, the use of tuff extracted from the quarries of Valpolicella was more in use.

A particular section of the museum is dedicated to the Roman Amphitheater, built in the first century AD outside the city walls and used for gladiator fights and hunts for ferocious and exotic animals. It was one of the largest in Italy, made with white and pink limestone from the Valpolicella quarries, bricks, river pebbles, and tuff chips. Finally, a section is dedicated to the Arco dei Gavi, built on the Via Postumia in the first century AD and commissioned from the powerful Gavi family. Another section is dedicated to the temple of the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis, inside which fragments of statues were found in stone coming from Egypt.

Outside the museum, you can walk among the remains of the Roman theater, designed shortly after the foundation of the city and then built in the Augustan age. It is an imposing building, with a difference in height between the stage and the auditorium of 50 meters, and one of the best-preserved theaters in all of northern Italy. The supporting walls remain, in block of tuff, and the semicircular floor of the orchestra extends in front of the stage. The steps of the auditorium are supported, in the center, at the slope of the hill, while on the sides they are supported by radial structures, largely rebuilt at the beginning of the twentieth century.