Odeon - a small theater in Taormina, built of adobe in the era of Ancient Rome by Emperor Caesar Augustus Octavian. Only in the 19th century its ruins were discovered by archaeologists and restored - today this monument of antiquity is one of the main tourist attractions of the city.

There is no doubt the origin of the Odeon - a word, by the way, literally means "little theater". It was built by the Romans when Taormina became a military colony of the empire in the 3rd century BC For its size it is considerably inferior to other buildings of antiquity - ancient Greek theater, but his presence in the city talks about how important it was for the culture of the locals.

Odeon ruins can be seen immediately behind the hill, named in honor of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Egypt, close to the medieval Palazzo Korvaha. They were discovered by accident in July 1892, and to the point of their existence did not even know! History finds quite unusual: a blacksmith named Antonio Bambara cultivated his plot of land, located behind the church of St. Catherine, when his pickaxe hit the structure of red brick. A year later, this place started a real archaeological site, and the Odeon, serious damage in some parts, was brought to light after several centuries of neglect.

Architecture Roman theater architecture is almost identical to another theater of Taormina - Greek. Last facing south, while Odeon faces north-east. As mentioned above, the theater is built of brick mixed with limestone. Its layout follows the layout of the other Roman theaters: the building is divided into three main sections - the stage, auditorium and kaveyu. The scene consists of a stylobate - the upper stage, which supports the bases of columns, and actually of the colonnade of the ancient Greek temple (according to some historians, dedicated to Aphrodite). Apart from theater performances in small Odeon, standing right in the middle of the policy, staged music shows, as well as there were rulers, important officials, soldiers and ministers of religious cults.