Teatro Angelo Mariani

Sant'Agata Feltria

General

The nominated property includes the blocks surrounding Piazza Garibaldi: the town hall of Sant'Agata Feltria, the Collegiate Church, and Teatro Angelo Mariani. The theatre is situated inside the Palazzo Municipale (town hall) and is the result of renovation work conducted in 1660.

The nominated property includes the blocks surrounding Piazza Garibaldi: the town hall of Sant’Agata Feltria, the Collegiate Church, and Teatro Angelo Mariani. The theatre is situated inside the Palazzo Municipale (town hall) and is the result of renovation work conducted in 1660. The palazzo was originally built in 1604 and was the residence of Marquis Orazio Fregoso. It stands at the end of a continuous stretch of buildings. The theatre was built in 1723 with only the stalls and a stage. The three tiers of 44 boxes made of fine chestnut wood were built between 1743 and 1753 and have remained unchanged to this day. The apron and the elaborate decorations were added in 1872, when the theatre was dedicated to the conductor Angelo Mariani. The house curtain, created by Romolo Liverani, represents a panoramic view of Sant’Agata Feltria, highlighting the Malatesta Fortress, later owned by the Montefeltro and the Fregoso dynasties.

All rigging is operated manually via ropes. Preserved items include tormentors and teasers, original wing flats and drapery from the 19th century, on display in the Council Chamber of Palazzo della Ragione/Fregoso. There are also numerous backdrops painted by Romolo Liverani and his son Tancredi, depicting various scenes: a grand gallery with a colonnade and trussed ceiling; the interior of a royal palace or noble residence; a rustic kitchen; a prison cellar; a night view of a castle; and a square with a Gothic bell tower. One backdrop that is not attributable to Liverani represents the hall of a noble house.

The theatre is managed by the Comitato per la Salvaguardia e il Decoro di Sant’Agata Feltria A.P.S. It offers a rich theatre season from October to May and a summer season in July and August. Programming ranges from commedia dell’arte and theatre in dialect to the theatre of the absurd, with concerts in various musical genres, book presentations, conferences, theatre workshops for children and guided tours. The theatre also hosts temporary exhibitions and operates a bookshop showcasing local history, local novelists, and biographies of historical figures from the town and surrounding area. It organises courses for schools to teach the history and structure of the theatre and engages students and teachers in heritage management and promotion projects.

Historical Context

Ancien Régime Europe (pre-1789)

Design and Inauguration dates

1723–1753

Giovanni Vannucci, Sebastiano Genga

Owned by

Municipality of Sant’Agata Feltria

Capacity

136

Continuity of use/Activity

61 days open/year
48 days of theatrical activities
13 days of community cultural activities

Artists

Romolo and Tancredi Liverani, Vittorio Zanni (stuccowork), Rachele Cappellani (gilding)

Location

Sant'Agata Feltria

Ravenna
,
Emilia-Romagna

Population in

1861

3.763 inhabitants

Current Population

1.961 inhabitants

Teatro Angelo Mariani
Town hall
Collegiate Church

Plan

U-shape

Building
Auditorium

Building

Façade

The main façade in Piazza Garibaldi presents two storeys delimited by cornices. The three-arched walkway at ground-floor level is supported by cruciform pillars. On the upper floor, the central window of three is fronted by a wrought-iron balcony. Fair-faced bricks highlight the structural details; other surfaces are plastered.

Layout of Interior Spaces

The main entrance to the theatre is under the arcade that fronts onto Piazza Garibaldi. Inside, a small entrance hall provides access to the two corridors that lead to the boxes, and opens directly into the stalls. On the upper floor, there is an archaeological museum, exhibition rooms, the council chamber, a historical municipal archive, and the theatre dressing rooms. In the basement, the Sala delle Scuderie is used for conferences and exhibitions.

Auditorium

Vertical Arrangement

Three tiers of boxes with load-bearing columns.

Plafond

The decorated flat ceiling features a large blue oval with a wood-framed ceiling rose in the centre surrounded by an eight-pointed star and polychrome festoons. In each of the four corners of the ceiling is an oil painting on canvas surrounded by monochrome scroll patterns. Attributed to Romolo Liverani, the paintings are portraits of four historically significant local figures: Ottaviano Fregoso, Uguccione della Faggiola, Dionigio Agatone De’ Maschi and Ranieri De’ Maschi.

Decorative Elements

Soft colours are used in the decorations in the auditorium. The continuous panelled parapets of the first tier of boxes are decorated in tempera with alternating light and dark striped motifs that imitate marble. White and blue are the predominant colours of the panels fronting the boxes of the second and third tiers, which are decorated with lace motifs and garlands.