The comprehensive project
The long path taken in 1990 does not end with the restoration of the theater building and the porticus post scaenam but, apart from the publication of scientific results, also includes the integration of the remains into the urban fabric and its proper preservation and exhibition with educational and cultural purposes.
To this end the project by Rafael Moneo Study considers the adaptation and development of all external spaces behind the perimeter wall of the theater a magnificent scenic background for the monument. The Cornice Park with its landscaped terraces is the natural extension to the west of the hill of Cerro de la Concepción in excel covers the eighteenth - century chapels of the Old Cathedral, establishing a link between the medieval remains of castle conception Cathedral and Teatro Romano / resort.
Moreover, the considerable wealth of the pieces found during subsequent excavations at the Teatro raised the opportunity to give the city a new museum space, the Mvseo the Roman Theater. The Mvseo leads to incorporate Pascual Riquelme Palace, begun in the mid-eighteenth century and incardinar the Church of Santa Maria la Vieja in the set, turning the theater into the latest and most remarkable piece presented in the Mvseo.
The Mvseo therefore conceived as a journey from the sea to the heights culminating the visit with the unexpected appearance of the imposing stands. This walk that leads from the low to the high levels runs through exhibition spaces illuminated by a complex system of skylights, which provide a framework for the presentation of the pieces found in the excavations.
The Mvseo develops into two different buildings, linked by a corridor arranged under the street: the first, which incorporates the facade of Riquelme, is organized around a courtyard as an impluvium. The second building, nestled between the medians of the General Ordoñez Street, houses the exhibition halls and the lifts to the archaeological crypt beneath Santa Maria la Vieja, which lead visitors to the theater.
The comprehensive project in its various aspects has recovered for the modern city one of its districts, and one of the most emblematic of its archaeological heritage monuments.
