Teatro alla Scala, popularly known as La Scala, is the main opera house in Milan, and one of the most prestigious theaters in the world. The theater is located in the homonymous square, flanked to the west by the Ricordi Casino, home to the La Scala Theater Museum (Museo Teatrale alla Scala). SHORT HISTORY After a fire destroyed the Royal Ducal Theater (Teatro Regio Ducale) on February 26, 1776, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, at the request of Milanese patrician families, issued a decree for the construction of a new theater. The project was entrusted to the famous architect Giuseppe Piermarini. The theater was built on the site of the Church of Santa Maria alla Scala, named after its founder – Regina della Scala, member of the Della Scalla family, Lords of Verona. The demolition of the church began on August 5, 1776, and on May 28, 1778, the theater was completed. On August 3, the theater was inaugurated with Antonio Salieri’s opera Europa riconosciuta, in the presence of the governor of Milan, Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg-Este, accompanied by Maria Beatrice d’Este, Count Carlo Giuseppe di Firmian and Duke Francesco III d’Este. During 1807, the interior decorations were redesigned Read more [...]
All Theaters in Lombardy
Teatro Sociale
Teatro Sociale (Social Theater) is the largest historical theater of Mantua, located in the center of the city, in Piazza Felice Cavallotti. SHORT HISTORY At the end of the Napoleonic period, there were two theaters in Mantua: Teatro Regio, built in 1783 by Giuseppe Giorgio Pietro Baldassarre Piermarini, and the Scientific Theater (Teatro Scientifico), built by Antonio Bibiena in 1769. Both theaters were located outside the city center, and the need for a new theater centrally located appeared at the beginning of the 19th century. On January 12, 1817, a special commission of notable citizens was formed to find a designer for the new theater. The commission chose not to risk it and turned to the well-known designer Luigi Canonica, former royal architect and the author of notable projects such as the enlargement of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the new hall of Teatro Grande in Brescia and the rebuilding of Teatro della Concordia in Cremona. On June 24, 1818, the first stone was laid in the presence of Count Ferdinando Arrivabene, the Marquis Francesco Zanetti, Luigi Preti and the architect Giovanni Battista Marconi, in charge of supervising the works. Teatro Sociale was completed in 1822 and opened on Read more [...]