The 2011 campaign aimed to further explore the theatre’s scaena frons which was partially excavated in the 1960s by Dr. U. Ciotti. At that time, investigations in the right-hand aditus, uncovered an opus quadratum wall and, on the left-hand side of the scaena and pulpitum area, a stairway leading to the upper floor of the scaena. The stairway was faced with opus reticulatum on the north side and opus quadratum on the east side, while to the west it abutted an opus quadratum wall. This wall seemed to close the scaena building on this side, creating an inner space interpretable as a parascaenium.

This year’s campaign opened a trench next to the one described above. It revealed a large cut, interpretable as a robber trench probably dating to the 18th century. From archive documents it is known that excavations were carried out across the area between 1717 and 1782, on the orders of Pope Pius VI, by Cardinal Pallotta Pro Treasurer General and directed by Gianni Battista Antonio Visconti (1722-1784) papal prefect for antiquities. These excavations also involved the theatre, where a colossal statue of a seated woman, a life-size seated female statue, a marble tripod with relief decoration on three sides and three engraved altars came to light. Four broken African marble columns, 0.66 cm in diameter; four cipollino columns, diameter 0,44 m, a number of alabaster and giallo antico column drums and numerous fragments of cornice and capitals were also recovered. The cut was in a collapse about one metre deep, which re-emerged during the excavation and had been partially removed by Ciotti. The collapse probably occurred following the abandonment of the town and the theatre’s fall into disuse.

During the 2011 campaign the wall of the scaena frons re-emerged, the rear part of which had been partially uncovered by Ciotti. Its dimensions indicate that it was an enormous cement structure, about 2.20 m wide, 1.80 m high, and 4 m long, built to support the marble structures. Behind and on the left side the facing was in tufa opus quadratum, while at the front the wall was faced in opus reticulatum, framed by two large white travertine blocks, which highlight an opening on the right side, possibly the valva hospitalitatium. The left hand facing of the scaena frons extended towards the orchestra, forming a wall dividing the pulpitum from the parascaenium, of which two courses of tufa blocks were found on the northern side of the excavation.

Three doors opened in the scaena frons: the valvae hospitalitates at the sides and the valva regia at the centre. The width of the three doors ought to have respected the Vitruvian canon of triangles within a circle, which here seems to have been partially adhered to. In fact, the theatre of Otricoli was constructed on an octadecagon, that is a polygon with 18 regular sides.