The Roman theatre of Rusicade is the largest Roman theatre in Algeria, built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian in the second century AD. It stands within the modern city, tucked into the hillside in the way Roman architects always preferred — the slope doing the structural work, the stone seating rising in a semicircle above what would have been a substantial stage. The cavea could hold several thousand spectators.
Rusicade itself was a significant Roman port, serving as the maritime outlet for Cirta (modern Constantine) inland. The city flourished for centuries before the Vandals destroyed the harbour in 530 AD. What remains today is this theatre and scattered stonework incorporated into the colonial and modern city around it.
The theatre is not a manicured archaeological park — it sits in the living city and is the more interesting for it. Come in the morning when the light is good and the heat manageable.