The Teatro Municipale (also since the 1980s called the Teatro Municipale Valli due to being named after the actor Romolo Valli) is a theatre in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

, Northern Italy. Following the destruction by fire of the 1741 Teatro Cittadella in April 1851, the new theatre was designed by the architect

Cesare Costa Cesare, the Italian version of the given name Caesar, may refer to: Given name * Cesare, Marquis of Beccaria (1738–1794), an Italian philosopher and politician * Cesare Airaghi (1840–1896), Italian colonel * Cesare Arzelà (1847–1912), ...

and constructed in the neoclassical style between 1852 and 1857.Lynn, p. 235 Its inauguration took place on 21 April 1857 with the performance of the ''

Vittor Pisani Vittor is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Frank Vittor (1888–1968), American sculptor *Sergio Vittor (born 1989), Argentine footballer See also *Victor (name) Victor is both a given name and a surname. It is Latin in origin ...

'' by local composer

Achille Peri Achille Peri (20 December 1812 – 28 March 1880) was an Italian composer and conductor. He is best known for his operas which were strongly influenced by the music of Giuseppe Verdi. Life and career Born in Reggio Emilia, Peri began his musica ...

. It is the pre-eminent public theatre of the city and is located in its historical centre next to the public park and near the smaller and more recent theatre Teatro Ariosto. It sponsors concerts, operas and ballet performance, while the adjacent, smaller, and more recently built Teatro Ariosto serves a more intimate stage for dramatic performances. The theatre has a rectangular base that measures 80 x 43.60 meters and covers an area of 3,763 square meters. The audience capacity is 1150 people. It has 56 dressing rooms for the artists and 16 anterooms. The concert hall is

elliptical Elliptical may mean: * having the shape of an ellipse, or more broadly, any oval shape ** in botany, having an elliptic leaf shape ** of aircraft wings, having an elliptical planform * characterised by ellipsis (the omission of words), or by conc ...

and has 106

boxes A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

placed on four tiers plus a regal box and a gallery. The frescoes on the ceiling are of the local artist

Domenico Pellizzi Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...

. The curtain was painted by

Alfonso Chierici Alfonso Chierici ( Reggio Emilia, 1816 - Rome, 1873) was an Italian painter, active in a late neoclassical style, mainly in Rome. Biography His nephew Gaetano Chierici was also a painter. From 1828 to 1832, he studied painting under Prospero Mi ...

. The outside is composed by 12 Tuscan columns made of granite on the ground floor while on the first floor it has 13 windows spaced by Ionic columns. On top of the building there are statues made by sculptors Prudenzio Piccioli,

Ilario Bedotti Ilario is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ilario Aloe (born 1986), Italian footballer who last played for A.P.D. Ribelle 1927 * Ilario Antoniazzi (born 1948), archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tunis since February 21, 2013 *Il ...

Giovanni Chierici Giovanni Chierici (1830–1917) was an Italian sculptor, active in Parma. He was born in Bigarello Bigarello (Mantovano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about east of Milan an ...

Antonio Ilarioli Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

Attilio Rabaglia Saint Attilio, one of the legendary martyrs of the Theban Legion, is venerated as a saint in the area of Trino Vercellese, in Piedmont, north-west Italy and commemorated on 28 June. However his cult is no longer officially recognized by the Rom ...

References

Notes Sources *Lynn, Karyl Charna, ''Italian Opera Houses & Festivals'', Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005 {{Coord, 44, 42, 04, N, 10, 37, 53, E, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Reggio Emilia Performing arts venues in Emilia-Romagna 1857 establishments in Europe