Teatro Petruzzelli

The Teatro Petruzzelli is the largest theatre of the city of Bari and the fourth Italian theatre by size.  Onofrio and Antonio Petruzzelli, traders and ship builders from Bari, presented the designs for the theatre drawn up by their brother-in-law, the engineer Angelo Bari Cicciomessere to the city of Bari. The proposal for building the Petruzzelli was accepted and, on 29 January 1896, a contract was signed between the family and the city administration. Two years later, in October 1898, work began and it ended in 1903.

During the night of 26 and 27 October 1991 the theatre was completely destroyed by fire, the result of arson. The criminal trial of those accused of setting the fire ended with the acquittal of the defendants and the condemnation of the perpetrators of the incident.

The Petruzzelli, reconstructed entirely with public money in 2008, was returned to the City of Bari in 2009. On 6 December 2009 the first opera season in the re-built theatre began with Turandot by Giacomo Puccini.

Address
Via Salvatore Cognetti 24, Bari, Italy

Established
1898