FLORENCE, Italy, April 14 (UPI) -- Archeologists excavating the remains of an ancient Roman theater in Florence, Italy, have uncovered a “vomitorium,” or corridor, under the Palazzo Vecchio, which was in use in the second century A.D.
The theater was used by as many as 15,000 people at a time for performances, city officials said Monday.
Contrary to popular opinion, the corridor was used as an entry and egress point for spectators, as well as a means for actors to get to the stage, and not a place reserved for purposes of vomiting after overeating.
Among the recent finds at the theater are the original painted stone on which theater goers walked from the outer circle of the theater to the orchestra pit, and well shafts descending 10 meters (32 feet) below the city and used for water and waste disposal.
The remains of the theater include a caged area for wild animals involved in theatrical events, and a separate stage.
The theater was used until the fifth century, and then abandoned until Florence became the first capital of a united Italy, in 1865, and the city was modernized. An archeological investigation of the Palazzo Vecchio began in the 1990s, with full-scale excavations starting in 2004.
[ANSA] http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2014/04/14/archeologists-uncover-corridor-in-florence-roman-theatre-dig_aceb0199-a590-41e5-a6a9-eb3ba316dad3.html
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