Julius Caesar cleared the site but was murdered before construction began. Augustus completed the theatre in 13 BC and inaugurated it in 12 BC, naming it for his nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus, who died in 23 BC.
The theatre was 364 feet (111 m) in diameter, the largest and most important in ancient Rome. Estimated capacity ranges from 11,000 to 20,000, and a late 4th-century catalogue gives 17,580. It was built of tuff and concrete faced with opus reticulatum and sheathed in white travertine. Doric columns stood at the base and Ionic in the middle, and an upper Corinthian tier is believed but uncertain.
It fell out of use in the early 4th century and was quarried. In the Middle Ages it was a fortress. Baldassare Peruzzi designed the Orsini palazzo built on top in the 16th century. The upper floors now hold clubs.
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