97
“ But the glory of Taormina is beyond ! the celebrated view of ./Etna , from the ruins ofthe Greek theatre! certainly one of the finest views in the world, and one, of which, words,and even the pencil, can impart but a faint idea.”— Knight’s “ Normans in Sicily .'*
The Laterizio, or remains of the ancient theatre at Taormina , has always excited thehighest admiration of the traveller, historian, antiquary, and artist: it is one of the noblestvestiges of antiquity, possessed of the most exact and beautiful proportions, and its situ-ation exceeds, in sublimity, that of every similar erection in the world. The exquisitetaste of the authors suggested to them the appropriateness of this glorious site, for abuilding that was to be dedicated to rational pleasures; and the natural circumstances ofthe spot presented additional inducements. On the ridge of a projecting height, thatfronts great iEtna, and commands a prospect of the bright blue sea, two broken cragsenclosed a space just large enough for the formation of a theatre between. Here theartist employed his happy genius in so fashioning the seats from “ the living stone,”that nothing further was required than to lay the polished marble over the rows ofbenches, that had been hewn regularly for their support: the natural recess affordedby the mountain-form, being thus furnished with seats, was found sufficient for theaccommodation of sixty thousand spectators. An exterior and inner gallery were added,built of fine bricks and small stones, and it is believed that numerous pillars, formed froma species of marble found in an adjacent quarry, have been removed from the interior ofthe theatre, to aid in the construction of some humble dwelling at Taormina . Notwith-standing the vast dimensions of the building, six hundred and twenty-four feet incircumference, so scientifically was it originally constructed, that the softest tones, thefeeblest articulated sounds, the smallest noise, such as “ the tearing of a piece ofpaper” on the proscenium, can even now be distinctly heard in every part of theperiphery. In fact, the cicerone never neglects to perform this experiment, to theuniform delight and astonishment of every visiter. In the upper part of the exterior
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