To begin with the actual theatres, then — for we can
have the theatre without the audience, never the audience
without the theatre — ^they, while they show a far greater
diversity among themselves than is found among those
of our own country, have some common features which
distinguish them from these. In the first place, the
auditorium is much larger than with us : its holding
capacity relatively less. The bottom gallery comes down
to the ground, and all the galleries are rather narrow —
often no more than two seats deep — and they are generally

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3o6 PLAYS AND PLAYERS IN MODERN ITALY

entirely taken up with boxes, until you come to the top
tier, or ' loggione,' which corresponds to our gallery. The
floor of the house is generally seated to only two-thirds
of its extent, and the back part is reserved for standing
room ; this and the ' loggione ' being the only places that
cannot be booked. Two tickets are needed, one for
entrance, which admits also to the pit, the other for your
reserved seat.
