It descends, through numerous transformations, from the oldest theater in Spoleto, the “Teatro Nobile”; the construction works of the Caio Melisso Theater of Spoleto began in 1657 when the Accademia degli Ottusi managed to obtain a space in a very interesting urban location, between the Cathedral Opera and the church of Santa Maria della Manna d’Oro.
Finely decorated, the Caio Melisso Theater of Spoleto contains interesting 19th-century paintings made by the Perugian Domenico Bruschi. The particular location, inside Spoleto Cathedral Square, makes the visit even more evocative.
In its current appearance, the Caio Melisso Theater is the work of Giovanni Montiroli, 1877-1880, who corrected the horseshoe curvature of the hall to improve visibility from the audience’s perspective, and built three tiers of boxes, demolishing the old wooden structures. The Perugian painter Domenico Bruschi decorated the ceiling with Apollo and nine Muses, interspersed with lunettes featuring floral compositions topped by monochrome putti, and the curtain depicting the Apotheosis of Caio Melisso. The theater is named after the Spoleto native friend of Maecenas, trusted librarian of Augustus, writer, playwright, grammarian, Caio Melisso.
The Caio Melisso Theater was restored in 1958, after a long period of abandonment, on the occasion of the first edition of the Festival of the Two Worlds, with a complete overhaul of its fundamental structures. The interest in theatrical activity has always been very lively in Spoleto, which in the 17th century gave birth to numerous playwrights including Campello, Castelli, Lauri, Luparini, and Vittori, as well as Giovanni Gherardi, the founder of one of the most famous genealogies of Harlequins and commedia dell’arte performers.
In 1817 Gioachino Rossini participated, as a double bass player, in a performance of L’Italiana in Algeri, just having time to admire the beautiful 18th-century decorations which were partly destroyed and partly stolen in 1819 by unknown Florentines. Source: MIBACT
Information on Caio Melisso Theater
Piazza Duomo,
06049 Spoleto (Perugia) 0743 2181
Email: sandro.frontalini@comune.spoleto.pg.it
Internet: https://www.comunespoleto.gov.it
