Herculaneum, Ancient Theater reopens to the public: tours into the bowels of the ancient city

The Ancient Theater of the Herculaneum Archaeological Park reopens to the public: from today, April 23, visitors will be able to return to the path into the bowels of the earth and the history of the ancient city, almost turning into... explorers with helmets, capes and flashlights, to explore the history of Herculaneum.

In fact, the Ancient Theater was buried by the eruption of 79 AD and is still buried under the eruptive material, encased in a tufa bank. It was excavated in the eighteenth century through a series of tunnels, the ones that you walk through today during the visit: you go down through a series of ramps that allow you to see parts of the buried building and descend to the orchestra floor with its white marble floor and the pillars made in the eighteenth century by engineer and archaeologist Francesco La Vega for reasons of statics. In the Theater there are, in addition to the remains of the ancient building, artifacts, graffiti left over the centuries by visitors, who by torchlight passed through the tunnels and shafts created to penetrate the bowels of ancient Herculaneum in the 18th and 19th centuries. The theater had been reopened on an experimental basis in 2018 after being closed for 20 years since the last opportunity to visit, offered in 1998.

After apreview opening to the area on April 22, with an entire afternoon shared with the local community, who were invited to immerse themselves in a piece of their own history, the theater will be open for visits every Saturday from April 23 until December, with a summer break in July and August. Six rounds of visits are planned, for groups of no more than 10 people at a time. Visitors will be taken on a journey through time through the eighteenth-century tunnels accompanied by Park staff as part of a special project funded by ticket proceeds.

“The theater,” explains Francesco Sirano, director of the Herculaneum Archaeological Park, “is located in a neuralgic area for the reconnection between the two Herculaneums, the ancient and the modern, where we have focused urban regeneration efforts to create new public spaces d’intensa with the City and the Packard Humanities Institute. The theater area is also a privileged place to access the famous Resina market and the historic center of Herculaneum. This is also how the Park interprets its social role as a catalyst. The visit will be a true exploration experience in the footsteps of visitors who over the centuries have crossed by torchlight the shafts and tunnels created by the engineers of the Bourbon army. An underground journey that transports us back through the centuries and makes us protagonists of a discovery that is renewed each time before our astonished eyes.”

Tours will take place on Saturdays at 09:00, 10:00 (English-language shift), 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 (English-language shift) and 16:00. Important information to know before visiting: the route is underground and reaches about 25 meters from street level; the visit is for adults only; the appointment is at the ticket office of the Archaeological Park 30 minutes before the start of one’s turn to visit; the floor is wet in several places and is slippery due to the presence of limestone sedimentations and water; in addition, the route includes many steps (therefore, it is not suitable for claustrophobic people and people with walking problems or pregnant people, i.e., people with pathologies that can be influenced by the visit context); for safety reasons, visitors are asked to carry only small bags; helmets, hair cap, capes and flashlights will be provided by the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum for use along the route; closed, low, durable and waterproof shoes are mandatory; hiking shoes are preferable; it is recommended in summer periods to have comfortable sweaters or jackets, to be worn before the visit, given the considerable temperature change to be faced during the route. Tickets (€5 theater only, €15 theater + park) can be purchased online at www.ticketone.it, and directly at the Park’s ticket office; with the occasion of the theater’s reopening, new extremely advantageous rates will be activated to encourage the visit and knowledge of this hidden treasure. For more info visit the Herculaneum Park website.

Image: the Ancient Theater of Herculaneum. Photo Pier Paolo Metelli - Arte’m

Herculaneum, Ancient Theater reopens to the public: tours into the bowels of the ancient city

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