Naumachie

Precious ruins of Roman architecture, the so-called naumachia is a large brick building, 122 meters long and 5 high, built in the 2nd century A.D. The wall whose front has eighteen large apsidal niches and as many small rectangular niches alternate, is parallel to the current Corso Umberto. It used to bound a large rectangular space downhill, by serving as a terracing . It’s maybe because of this form of enclosure that in 1700 Philip of Orville called improperly this space Naumachia, which literally means “naval battle”, assuming that in the Roman period naval games took place there. Recent studies have ruled out the presence of a Naumachia in Taormina, but the construction is the result of a magnificent urban restoration, incorporating the Greek pre-existences. Thus, as in the Ancient Theater, in the Naumachia area, an equally monumental Roman wall was built, parallel to the great Hellenistic Wall. The structure was then used as a foundation for the modern houses.