Arena

Arena

In recent years, the Palchettisti Society of Teatro Sociale has tackled the delicate issue of restoring the southern façade, the work of architect Luigi Canonica who completed the ‘theatre factory’ in 1819.

In 1938, with the construction of the ‘open-air Arena Theatre’, as defined in the chronicles of the time, engineer Carlo Ponci had redefined the scenic and compositional relations between the building and the arena; the organic body in which the stage was comprised between two seating areas, one indoors and one outdoors, had been cancelled and in its place were two opposing and functionally autonomous theatres.
The new reinforced concrete structure, consisting of a covered stage and its terraces, extended as far as the walls along Via Indipendenza, and could accomodate up to 4000 people; in its construction, it did not in any way respect the original façade, devastating its typological and architectural features.
It immediately failed to achieve the desired success, also due to the war, and by the 1960s it had been unused for some time, so much so that in 1970 the terraces were demolished by the municipal administration to make way for the current car park. In 2010, the covered stage and the 1930s stage tower were demolished, thus bringing back to light the façade, now restored, that we can admire today.

In June 2013, the new Arena of Teatro Sociale was inaugurated to host shows, concerts and events during the Summer period.

Maximum capacity: 1500 seated audience, 3000 standing audience.