The Stadttheater Meran or Teatro Civico di Merano is the civic

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

of the town of

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

, northern Italy. With the economic and financial development of the city as a

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

for

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

and the aristocracy, the need for a higher cultural institution rose. The architect

Martin Dülfer Martin Dülfer (1 January 1859, Breslau – 21 December 1942, Dresden) was a German architect and professor; best known for designing theatres in the Historical and Art-Nouveau styles. Life and work His father, Carl Dülfer, was a publisher ...

, who was a representative of the Munich School of Architecture, was given the commission to build the new theatre.Dieter Klein, Martin Dülfer. ''Wegbereiter der deutschen Jugendstilarchitektur''. Arbeitshefte des Bayerischen Landesamtes für Denkmalpflege, 8. Lipp, Munich 1993. He designed the theatre in the '' Jugendstil''. It was completed in 1899 and inaugurated on December 1, 1900. After the annexation of the town following the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

from Austria-Hungary to Italy was the theatre renamed by the Italians after

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

, who visited the town in 1923. The theatre saw its decline after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the 1950s. It was, however, revived again and renovated after a fire in 1978.

References

External links

Meraner Stadttheater und Kurhausverein , Stadttheater Meran
(with interior images) Merano Theatres in Italy Art Nouveau architecture in Italy Buildings and structures in South Tyrol Tourist attractions in South Tyrol Art Nouveau theatres Theatres completed in 1899 1899 establishments in Austria-Hungary 19th-century architecture in Italy {{italy-struct-stub

References

Further reading

External links