The Roman theatre of Benevento: Reconstruction of sound propagation with a multichannel microphone

The open-air theatre of Benevento is one of the few theatres built during the Imperial Age of the Roman Empire. Different acoustic studies have been undertaken on this cultural heritage throughout the centuries, but this paper deals with an alternative way of data representation: a visual video overlay showing the sound reflections hitting the steps of the cavea has been considered an added value to the acoustic parameters represented on graphs. Fortunately, during the 20th century, the archaeological excavations of the area brought to light the ancient monument that was buried under residential constructions built thereafter. Similarly, historical background and architectural features based on archaeological information have been briefly outlined. The acoustic reflections mentioned by Vitruvius are herein visible to be understood with the shots taken from the video of the impulse response (IR).