The Giuseppe Verdi Theatre in Fiorenzuola d’Arda is located inside an ancient abbey that was renovated in 1847 based on a design by architect G. Perreau, with decorations by painter Bertolotti. It was inaugurated in 1853 with Giuseppe Verdi’s opera ‘Attila’, to whom the theatre was later dedicated.
In 1915, the painter Varoli renovated the decorations.
The theatre, which has been recently restored, hosts most of the theatre season in Fiorenzuola d’Arda.
Architecture
The rectangular foyer leads to the horseshoe-shaped stalls with three tiers of boxes and a gallery. The first tier is divided into fourteen boxes, while the second and third tiers have thirteen boxes each.
History and restoration
In 1914, the theatre underwent extensive renovation based on a design by engineer Giuseppe Frignani, who nevertheless preserved part of the original 19th-century style. The following year, however, the decorations were completely redone by the painter Paolo Vanoli, who painted effigies of famous authors and medallions with mythological figures in the balconies of the boxes and the three muses of music, poetry and painting on the ceiling of the stalls.
In 1962, the theatre was closed due to its unfitness for use, and in the early 1980s, emergency work was carried out on the roof to prevent further damage.
At the end of the 1990s, a long and complex restoration project was launched, which, carried out in successive stages, led to the theatre’s definitive reopening in the spring of 2006.
Since June 2002, the front part of the building has hosted an intense programme of exhibitions of contemporary art promoted by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Fiorenzuola. The initiative had two objectives: on the one hand, it encouraged citizens to reclaim a place that had been closed to the public for a long time, and on the other, it brought a very diverse audience closer to contemporary art, presented in different forms and styles.
The museum
In 2013, the theatre museum was inaugurated inside the station and can be visited by booking in advance with the municipality’s culture office. There are numerous references to the maestro Giuseppe Verdi, who used to depart from Fiorenzuola railway station, where an inscription has been placed.