Amphitheater

This guide to the Amphitheater in Warsaw's Łazienki Park follows King Stanisław August Poniatowski's decision to build a real stage wrapped in fake ruins, modeled on the excavated Roman theater at Herculaneum, and the ballet that opened it in 1791 before nearly a thousand people seated across the water. It also traces sculptor Tommaso Righi's row of playwright statues lined along the seating above the stage. Look for the island's stage from across the water, where the audience once sat.