The interplay of architecture and acoustics is remarkable in ancient Greek and Roman theatres. These spaces of performance are the ancestors of modern theatres both for their architectural design and for their acoustics. Despite their antiquity, in many cases they are nowadays lively performance spaces and the knowledge of the sound field inside them is in many respects still an issue of relevant importance. Even if the transition from Greek to Roman theatres can be described with a great architectural detail, a comprehensive and objective approach to the two types of spaces from the acoustical point of view is unfortunately not available yet. The present work addresses this point and has the aim of providing experimental basis to the acoustical evolution from Greek to Roman theatre design. Firstly, by means of in situ and scale model measurements, the most important features of the sound field in ancient theatres are clarified and discussed. Then it has been possible to match quantitatively the role of some remarkable architectural design variables with acoustics, and it is seen how this criteria can be used effectively to define different groups of ancient theatres. Finally some more specific wave phenomena are addressed and discussed.
On the acoustics of ancient Greek and Roman theatres
FARNETANI, Andrea;PRODI, Nicola;POMPOLI, Roberto
2008
Abstract
The interplay of architecture and acoustics is remarkable in ancient Greek and Roman theatres. These spaces of performance are the ancestors of modern theatres both for their architectural design and for their acoustics. Despite their antiquity, in many cases they are nowadays lively performance spaces and the knowledge of the sound field inside them is in many respects still an issue of relevant importance. Even if the transition from Greek to Roman theatres can be described with a great architectural detail, a comprehensive and objective approach to the two types of spaces from the acoustical point of view is unfortunately not available yet. The present work addresses this point and has the aim of providing experimental basis to the acoustical evolution from Greek to Roman theatre design. Firstly, by means of in situ and scale model measurements, the most important features of the sound field in ancient theatres are clarified and discussed. Then it has been possible to match quantitatively the role of some remarkable architectural design variables with acoustics, and it is seen how this criteria can be used effectively to define different groups of ancient theatres. Finally some more specific wave phenomena are addressed and discussed.I documenti in SFERA sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
