On July 23 and 24, 2026, at 9:00 p.m., the Canopo at Villa Adriana in Tivoli will host *Memoirs of Hadrian*, a play based on the novel of the same name by Marguerite Yourcenar, starring Alessandro Preziosi as the Roman emperor and directed by him. The production is by PATO srl, in collaboration with the Teatro Stabile d’Abruzzo, with support from the MIC, Villa Adriana, Villa d’Este, and the General Directorate of Museums.
The play, translated by Lidia Storoni Mazzolani, also features Elisa Di Eusanio, with set design by Alfredo Pirri, costumes by Alessandro Lai, and music by Giacomo Vezzani. The performance takes place within the archaeological setting of Villa Adriana, where the theater interacts with the spaces of the ancient imperial residence.
The production explores the portrait of Hadrian through the writer’s words, following the inner journey of a man caught between his public role as emperor and his search for his own identity. The character brought to life by Yourcenar thus becomes a figure capable of exploring universal themes such as love and death, desire and beauty, destiny, and the precariousness of power.
The text recounts the imaginary encounter between the writer and her literary creation,Emperor Hadrian, imagined in the final moments of his life on the shores of the Mediterranean as he confronts the approach of death. Through theatrical language, the production reconstructs the dialogue between memory and the present, bringing to life the reflections of a man who looks back on his own existence and the meaning of his choices.
The narrative follows the chronological structure of the novel, from the early years of Hadrian’s youth and his rise to power to the physical decline of his final years. The journey traces the major milestones of his life: his quest for peace, his political reforms, his connection to Greek culture, his friendship with Plotina, and his grief over the death of Antinous.
The theatrical journey ultimately leads the audience to the emperor’s final moments at the villa in Baia, where Hadrian, now elderly and ill, writes a long letter to his successor Marcus Aurelius, entrusting his human and political experience to posterity.
Tickets are available through the Ciaotickets network.
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| Alessandro Preziosi brings “Memoirs of Hadrian” to the Canopus Hall at Villa Adriana in Tivoli |
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