At the beginning of the 19th century, the city needed to have an adequate theatrical structure and, around 1805, the design of the theater was entrusted to the famous architect Giuseppe Piermarini (1734-1809), author of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Following the death of the architect, the theatre was built by master builders Domenico Belli and Francesco Fontana, who made substantial changes to the original project.

The theater was inaugurated in 1812 with the performance of three melodramas: “Ser Marcantonio” by Stefano Pavesi, “Oh, che originale!” by Giovanni Simone Mayer and “Il filosofo sedicente” by Giuseppe Mosca.

In 1849, a radical restoration was carried out by architect Vincenzo Ghinelli, who expanded the proscenium, redesigned the stage, and modified the access ramps. The works were completed in 1852 and the theatre reopened with the performance of Verdi’s Luisa Miller. Another restoration was carried out in 1873 with the destruction of the Piermarini vault and the replacement of the fourth row of boxes with a balcony (loggione). On the ceiling, the original decorations by Spiridione Mattei were replaced with the ones by Tito Boccolini. The reopening took place in 1879. Recently undergoing a new restoration, the theatre has reopened to the public in 1995.

Every year the Municipality of Matelica plans a rich and sought-after theatrical and musical season, managed in collaboration with the AMAT (Associazione Marchigiana Attività Teatrali) of which the Municipality of Matelica is a member.

The theatre has its own archive that collects historical documents related to the construction, management and various theatrical works. It is currently being reordered and digitized, thanks to a commitment of the Municipality and an equal contribution of 10,000.00 euros from the “Project of historical archives in the earthquake area – Memorandum of Understanding between the Marche Region and the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio of the province of Macerata”.

During the works, the remains of a spa building with mosaics from the Roman era were found, and an interesting path was set up for the visit of these archaeological finds.

Inside the foyer is housed the municipal wine shop, Foyer “Verdicchio di Matelica” managed by the Verdicchio di Matelica Producers Association in collaboration with the Municipality.

PH: Erminio Burzacca