You will see the Roman Theatre from above on almost any tour of Cartagena. It is worth knowing what you are looking at, because the story of how it disappeared is as interesting as the building.
Carthago Nova
The city was founded around 227 BC by the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal, and taken by Rome in 209 BC during the Second Punic War. Renamed Carthago Nova, it became one of the most important ports in Roman Hispania, rich on silver, lead and esparto grass.
Built for Augustus
The theatre was constructed between roughly 5 and 1 BC and dedicated to Gaius and Lucius Caesar, the grandsons of the emperor Augustus. It seated around 6,000 people, cut into the slope of the Concepción hill so the terrain carried most of the weight of the tiers.
Falling out of use
By the third century the theatre had stopped being a theatre. A market was built over it. Later a Byzantine district, then a medieval quarter, then the old cathedral of Santa María la Vieja, and finally a dense neighbourhood of 19th-century houses. Each layer used the stone below it as foundation, which is precisely why so much survived.
Rediscovery in 1988
The theatre was found by accident during works for a crafts centre. Archaeologists realised the curving walls in the basement of the old quarter were seating tiers. The excavation took years and involved carefully removing buildings that were themselves historic.
The museum today
The museum, designed by Rafael Moneo, takes you from the harbour front through an underground passage and up into the theatre itself. It is a deliberately theatrical piece of architecture, and one of the reasons the site won so much attention when it opened in 2008.
What to look for
The orchestra floor still shows its marble paving. The columns of the porticus behind the stage were reassembled from fragments. And above the seating you can still see the ruined apse of the cathedral that once sat on top — the clearest illustration you will find of how a city builds itself over its own past.
Visiting on a port day
Entry is inexpensive and the visit takes about 45 minutes. If your time is short, the free viewpoint from the street above gives you the whole bowl of the theatre in one shot, which is what most tours use.
If you are coming into Cartagena on a cruise, our Segway tour is built around your ship's departure time — we will reply to your request as soon as possible.