Museum of Lisbon – Roman Theatre
Below the Castle, the ruins of Olisipo's 1st-century Roman theatre, found in 1798, and a site museum overlooking the Tagus.
Museum of Lisbon – Roman Theatre
On the slope below the Castle, between the Cathedral and Largo de São Mamede, this site museum reveals one of the most important monuments of the ancient Roman city of Felicitas Iulia Olisipo: its theatre, dating from the 1st century AD. The ruins were discovered in April 1798 by the architect Manoel Caetano de Sousa, whose name was long forgotten, overshadowed by the Italian Francisco Xavier Fabri, until documents found in the Royal Library of Rio de Janeiro restored to him the credit for the discovery. Opened in 2001 as the Museu do Teatro Romano de Lisboa, it has been part of the Museum of Lisbon since 2015. The site includes the archaeological field where the theatre lies and is housed in a 17th-century building that belonged to the Cathedral Chapter, together with more recent buildings that have also been excavated; the architectural restoration kept some of the existing solutions so as to show how the space evolved over time. With a sweeping view over the Tagus, the monument shaped the later urban development of the area, as the preserved remains and the overlapping buildings show. The long-term exhibition, devoted mainly to the theatre, brings together architectural and sculptural elements and a vast collection of ceramics, spanning a period from the 4th century BC to the 17th century, and also hosts temporary exhibitions.
Located at: Museu de Lisboa
Address: Rua de São Mamede, 3A, 1100-532 Lisboa
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-18:00, last entry 17:30 (closed on Mondays, 1 Jan, 1 May, 24, 25 and 31 Dec)
Phone: +351 215 818 530
Coordinates: 38.7106036, -9.1323557
Buses: 737, 10B, 711, 746, 759, 783, 728, 735, 781, 782
Tram: 12E, 28E, 15E, 25E
Metro: Terreiro do Paço (Blue), Rossio (Green)
Train: Sintra Line, Rossio Station
Boat: Terreiro do Paço River Station
Opened: 2001 (25 years)
