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Town Theatre

Behind the facade in the neoclassic style, dating from 1894-1895, a modern theatre opens out, built during the 30s of the previous century, which replaced the one built at the end of the 19th century and has been the subject of recent restoration. In this building, the many theatres coexist that have hosted various types of performances, in response to the town’s tastes and customs over the years.

For the construction of the theatre, which had to satisfy the bourgeoisie taste of the middle-classes, it took a good eleven years to complete and three designers were employed. At the end of the work, the Town Theatre had 213 seats, distributed in the stalls, two rows of boxes and a gallery. In the history of the town theatre it is possible to distinguish two phases that highlight the characteristics of the structure in relation to its public function: that of the theatre in the 1800s and then its transformation into a theatre-cinema.

At the end of the 1800s, the construction of the theatre represented a demanding commitment for the municipality that had to choose the most suitable location during a period of building expansion and redesign of the town, and it had to deliver a structure that was representative of a certain social class and functional for all types of performances. In 1884 the technical bureaucracies started with the design work being entrusted to the Engineer Alfonso Ferretti from Lecce. Four years after the work started, modifications and additions were needed to Ferretti’s project, who had designed a building that was too small, neglecting the technical requirements that were essential for a modern theatre. Hence, the inadequacy of Ferretti’s design, together with the long-standing problem of obtaining the economic resources, resulted in a new delay in the work.

At the beginning of the 1890s, the local council entrusted the project entirely to the Engineer Gaetano Marschiezek, creator of numerous works in the province of Brindisi and in the Salento, who designed a classic ‘Italian theatre’ modelled on the Politeama theatre in Lecce. The project required, in addition to the necessary work on the walls, the complete remake of the facade with Corinthian capitals, gilded adornments in stone from Lecce and Ostuni, the completion work, and the extendable bridge ceiling, in order to lighten up the theatre during the day, with a design consisting of two concentric medallions. The whole of the decorations and the various elements had to be very elegant and have at the same time, a simple and sober aspect.

The inauguration of the theatre took place on the 17th June 1895: for the occasion the well-known Compagnia Scognamiglio performed with an operetta by Vincenzo Valente, with the architect Gaetano Marschiezek in attendance. From its inauguration to the 1920s the theatre hosted various types of performances; from dramatic plays to public meetings, dance festivals and cinematic projections.

The 1920s signalled a period of crises that culminated in the closure of the building: the limited capacity was the main cause of the decline. The maintenance costs were not worthwhile for private investors, a lot of work was required, so, it was decided to refit the building as a cinema in order to satisfy public demand. Therefore, a new project was developed by the engineer D’Alonzo with the intention of maximising the number of seats; subdividing them into categories catering for the economic means of each social class. Parts of the building were to be demolished, including the gallery, in order to create a larger area for the stalls and upper tiers that laterally would provide space for a series of 14 boxes. After several delays, the work was finished in 1936. A few years later, after the opening of the theatre, that mostly functioned as a cinema and party venue, signs of disrepair were already beginning to be noticed. The building continued, however, to carry on for several years without any particular restoration work.

In the after-war years, the cinematic activity intensified and festivals and revues were held along with a few dramatic plays. In the 1970s, the disrepair continued to worsen, so that, in the 1980s the local authority decided to entrust a recovery and restoration plan for the building to a designer. The project was only partially carried out though; in the 1990s the Ufficio Tecnico Comunale (local authority engineering and design department) developed a new plan to functionally upgrade the structure from a staging and acoustic perspective. The aforementioned plan re-established the old arrangements for the boxes which opened out in two rows onto the stalls, transforming simultaneously the gallery for a total of 304 seats. At the end of the work, in March 2000, the supervisory Commission for public shows expressed approval for the alterations and the building was inaugurated in April 2000. After almost thirty years of waiting and more than ten years of work, Mesagne once again has a new Town Theatre that hosts seasons of prose and music, also thanks to the collaboration with the Consorzio Teatro Pubblico Pugliese (Puglian Public Theatre Consortium), important theatre companies and eminent artists.

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