Abstract. Various properties of the (continuous) Cesàro operator C, acting on Banach and Fréchet spaces of continuous functions and L p -spaces, are investigated. For instance, the spectrum and point spectrum of C are completely determined and a study of certain dynamics of C is undertaken (eg. hyperand supercyclicity, chaotic behaviour). In addition, the mean (and uniform mean) ergodic nature of C acting in the various spaces is identied.