Theatre Amintore Galli
Work of the architect Luigi Poletti
On October 28, 2018 the Galli theater reopens its doors after 75 years and it is ready to become again the place of great music.
Teatro Amintore Galli is the Municipal Theatre of Rimini.
The construction began in 1843 and it was opened in 1857 with the opera "Aroldo" by Giuseppe Verdi.
In the origine the theatre was called "Teatro Nuovo" (the New Theatre) and it changed name in 1859 to Teatro Vittorio Emanuele II. Only later, in 1947, it was entitled to the composer Amintore Galli (1845-1919).
The project (1841-43) was signed by Luigi Poletti, who was an architect and engineer of the Papal States. The six originale tables of the project, which he submitted 29th January 1842 in Rimini, were lost during the earthquake 1916. However, there are 6 photographs (by Luigi Perilli) dating back to 1900 and five watercolor drawings of the original design.
The last performance of the theatre dates back to the spring 1943 because, afterwards, much of the building was destroyed by the Second World War bombings. The apse and the roof were collapsed, and about 90 percent of the auditorium and the stage were destroyed. The only part that remained almost undamaged is the foyer.
Luigi Poletti designed the Municipal Theatre of Rimini as a temple of music. He was inspired by the solemnity and magnificence of Roman temples and proposed a innovative style; a monumental building in a classic architecture (greek-roman), which distinguished the theatre from others in Europe in that period. The auditorium with the stage and the gallery contained more than a thousand seats.
If a restoration was partly realized between 1997 and 2001, in 2010 the Municipality has programmed a complete reconstruction of the theatre remaining as much as possible faithful to the original scheme although respecting the new security rules. The restoration project and the philological and typological study of the theatre are under the Supervision of the regional Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage and Cultural Activities of Emilia Romagna. The restoration works, started in 2014, reached the first important step on 17th September 2015 with the opening of the foyer of the theatre. On the occasion, after 158 years, the piano played by Giuseppe Verdi during the opening of the Theatre Galli in August 1857, came back to Rimini and once again was played during the opening cerimony.
The restoration work have provided an exceptional opportunity for Archaeological excavations that have affected the areas below the auditorium, the orchestra pit, the stage and the side rooms that overlook the square and Via Poletti. Owing to of the important archaeological finds, now the restoration project also includes the enhancement of part of the structures found underneath the pit and a multimedia museum is going on to be set up with multimedia supports.
Additional notes:
Since 2018 in the Foyer of the nineteenth-century Theater it is also possible to get married. The Teatro Galli can host not only the civil ceremony but wedding parties too, for a fabulous ceremony.
Piazza Cavour, 22 - tel: (+39) 0541 704292, (+39) 0541 704295 | teatrogalli.it
