L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS invites us to travel up and down an area of exceptional- ly high "theater density." Let us not miss the opportunity, and let us begin in Emilia- Romagna, where Sant'Agata Feltria's Teatro Angelo Mari- ani is known as Italy's oldest t h e a t e r b u i l t e n t i r e l y o f wood, from the auditorium and load-bearing columns to the stage. In 1605, Orazio Fregoso, lord of Sant'Agata, had the Palazzone built, with space inside for the main f l o o r a n d s t a g e . I t w a s i n 1743 that the first two tiers of boxes were added by the Society of Co-owners, made up of the town's noble and affluent families. The theater w a s c o m p l e t e d t e n y e a r s later with the construction of the third tier. We now come to Spoleto's T e a t r o N u o v o G i a n C a r l o Menotti. Here in Umbria, we find a classic Italian-style theater, with a horseshoe- shaped auditorium, a main floor, and four tiers of boxes. I t o p e n e d i n 1 8 6 4 a s t h e result of a spontaneous ini- tiative by a group of citizens, w h o f o r m e d a j o i n t - s t o c k company with the aim of giv- ing Spoleto a modern, func- tional, and more spacious theater than the original one, by then considered cramped and acoustically "dead." B e g i n n i n g i n 1 9 5 8 , i t b e c a m e o n e o f t h e m a i n stages of the internationally r e n o w n e d F e s t i v a l d e i D u e M o n d i , f o u n d e d b y Italian American composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Since 2010, the theater has official- ly borne his name. N o w w e m o v e i n t o t h e Marche, beginning in Fabri- a n o . T h e T e a t r o G e n t i l e , renowned for its acoustics, has a Neoclassical entrance a n d a h o r s e s h o e - s h a p e d auditorium with four tiers containing 91 boxes. Opened i n 1 8 8 4 w i t h G i u s e p p e Verdi's Aida, it preserves his- t o r i c a l l y i m p o r t a n t s t a g e m a c h i n e r y t h a t a l l o w s scenery to be raised and low- ered. The theater also houses an antique thunder machine and another that produces lightning effects. In Jesi, the Teatro Gio- v a n n i B a t t i s t a P e r g o l e s i opened in 1798. Construc- t i o n w a s f i n a n c e d b y t h e patriciate, which formed a c o n d o m i n i o m a d e u p o f noble Jesi families who sub- s c r i b e d t o p u r c h a s e t h e b o x e s . E l l i p t i c a l i n p l a n , with three tiers of boxes and an upper gallery, the theater faces a square dominated by the monumental clock on its façade, a gift from Prince Beauharnais after his visit to the city. The historic curtain w a s c r e a t e d i n 1 8 5 0 a n d depicts Frederick II entering Jesi, where the great Swabi- a n e m p e r o r w a s b o r n i n 1194. In 1883, the theater r e c e i v e d i t s p e r m a n e n t n a m e , G i o v a n n i B a t t i s t a Pergolesi, in honor of the celebrated composer born in J e s i i n 1 7 1 0 . I n 1 9 6 8 , i t received the state designa- tion Theater of Tradition, the first in the Marche and still the only one in Italy located in a city that is not a provincial capital. A few kilometers away, w e r e a c h A s c o l i P i c e n o ' s TeatroVentidio Basso. With 842 seats, it is the largest h i s t o r i c t h e a t e r i n t h e p r o v i n c e a n d t h e t h i r d largest in the Marche. Its o v a l a u d i t o r i u m , w i t h a main floor and four tiers, each containing 23 comfort- a b l e b o x e s , a s w e l l a s a n upper gallery, is a triumph of color: from the carmine red of the curtain and velvet upholstery to the green plas- terwork and gold finishes. The theater is named for Publius Ventidius Bassus, the first-century B.C. gener- a l a n d p o l i t i c i a n o f t h e Roman Republic who was born in Ascoli. He is famous for having risen from slavery to the consulship and for defeating the Parthians. In Offida, we find a the- ater built in 1820 that every- one calls La Bomboniera, the Jewel Box, and a little gem it truly is. Designed in a f u l l y B a r o q u e h o r s e s h o e s h a p e , i t h a s 5 0 b o x e s arranged over three tiers, along with an upper gallery a n d m a i n f l o o r . T h e o l d stage curtain survives, paint- ed with the legend of the mythical Golden Serpent, a wondrous creature said to have crossed the town and left an indelible mark on its collective memory. W e m o v e o n t o F e r m o and its Teatro dell'Aquila, named for the majestic bird that is the city's symbol. It holds about 1,000 specta- t o r s , a n d w i t h 1 2 4 b o x e s a r r a n g e d o v e r f i v e t i e r s framing the main floor, it r a n k s a m o n g t h e m o s t imposing 18th-century the- a t e r s i n c e n t r a l I t a l y . I t s stage, covering roughly 350 s q u a r e m e t e r s , a n d i t s a c o u s t i c s m a k e i t o n e o f Italy's most prestigious his- toric venues. For about 200 years, it has also been one of the main centers of cultural life in the Marche. Our tour of the theaters, a n d , t h r o u g h t h e m , t h e Marche, still has three stops to go. The Teatro Feronia takes us to San Severino Marche. I t s e l e g a n t h o r s e s h o e - s h a p e d a u d i t o r i u m , w i t h three tiers of boxes and an u p p e r g a l l e r y , o p e n e d i n 1828 with performances of t w o o p e r a s b y G i o a c h i n o Rossini, Mosè in Egitto and Matilde di Shabran. Over- l o o k i n g t h e m o n u m e n t a l Piazza del Popolo, it is con- sidered a jewel of theater architecture in the Marche. The deteriorating condition of the original building, dat- ing to the first half of the 18th century, prompted the S o c i e t y o f C o - o w n e r s t o commission its reconstruc- tion in a pure Neoclassical style. T h e T e a t r o B r a m a n t e , m e a n w h i l e , t a k e s u s t o Urbania to discover another of the Marche's gems, with three tiers of boxes and an u p p e r g a l l e r y . I n 1 8 5 5 , t h a n k s t o t h e T h e a t r i c a l Academy formed by affluent citizens, work began on 44 boxes arranged over three tiers and topped by an open balcony gallery. Shortly after Italian Unification, the the- ater opened with Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore and was named for the distinguished l o c a l f i g u r e D o n a t o B r a - m a n t e , t h e p a i n t e r a n d architect responsible for the design of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. We end with one of the Marche's most elegant his- toric theaters and one of the landmarks of Macerata's cul- tural life: the Teatro Lauro Rossi. Its construction was p r o m o t e d i n 1 7 6 5 b y 4 6 nobles from Macerata. The auditorium, a refined inter- pretation of the late Baroque language, has a bell-shaped p l a n w i t h t h r e e t i e r s o f arched boxes, their small b a l c o n i e s d e c o r a t e d w i t h balustrades in relief, and a fourth tier converted in 1855 into an upper gallery with a lattice parapet. There are a l s o p r o s c e n i u m b o x e s f r a m e d b y g i a n t c o l u m n s w i t h C o r i n t h i a n c a p i t a l s . With 426 seats surrounded b y s t u c c o a n d f a u x p o l y - c h r o m e m a r b l e i n s i l v e r - blue, green, and gold, the Macerata theater is an artis- tic jewel unique in Italy and the Marche's sole, precious example of an Italian-style theater. One curious feature sets the building apart: it is made of wood but looks like m a r b l e . T r y t o u c h i n g i t s walls and you will be sur- prised. They feel warm, like the intensity of the emotions s t i r r e d b y e n t e r i n g t h e s e artistic gems, not cold as you might expect! Through these theaters, citizens themselves became protagonists on the public stage, while theaters became engines of social and economic development for their communi- ties, not merely places where culture was produced and consumed. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 A visitor touching the wooden walls of a theater painted to create the appearance of marble, a feature that character- izes the Teatro Lauro Rossi in Macerata (Image generated using Adobe Illustrator AI)

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