Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari, Italy

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.

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User Reviews

Stuart Scott (11 months ago)
The theater is stunning, the acoustics are superb, but the seats in the balconies are quite uncomfortable.

Rad Paluszak (11 months ago)
Even though we went to what is was supposed to be an opera for kids, the vast majority of the audience was adult and the show was absolutely stunning. Highly recommend the experience. The Labirynt in Crete by Petruzzelli theater has extremely well prepared shows with new technology incorporated gracefully into an otherwise classic story. The twist and refreshed take of the plot is also very creative. All in all 10/10.

Gladiola (14 months ago)
A gem of a Theatre in the beautiful city of Bari. I took a tour guided by Daniela who shared with us her passion and incredible knowledge of art and culture. I learned a lot about the history of the place, the powerful families who participated in its creation, various artists who gave life to stunning shows, all in the breathtaking beautiful and mesmerizing stage of the theater. Also, all the other ladies in the reception hall, Lisiana, etc were exceptionally friendly. I will most certainly return to catch a live show there.

ion raut (2 years ago)
The Petruzzelli Theater is the largest theater in Bari and the fourth largest in Italy.

Ahmet Erik (2 years ago)
The architecture is truly magnificent. You really can't miss it even if you tried. The strong red colour is effulgent and the contemporary design shines ✨️ The Petruzzelli Theater is the largest theater in Bari and the fourth largest in Italy, located in the heart of the capital of Apulia.

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Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.

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