Theatre of the Filodrammaticis (Teatro dei filodrammatici)
in 1908 Society Filodrammatica piacentina, an amateur actors group, was given the one-nave church with a barrel vault which had once been part of Santa Franca nunnery, abolished under Napoleon’s rule. The engineer Giovanni Gazzola was appointed to transform the church into a small theatre; the Art Nouveau style, very fashionable at the beginning of the 20Th century, influenced the whole project. The external, curved lines decorative pattern, known as butterfly wings, is also evident on the doors and wrought iron parts, namely the lamps with their strange snake-like: delicate patterns go across the hall, from the proscenium arch of the ceiling. After several restoration works, the theatre reopened in 2000 and houses about 300 seats.
Town Theater (Teatro Municipale)
Inaugurated in 1908, after only one year of building site, it represents, the largest theatre in the city, with its 1124 seats, and was designed by the architect Lotario Tomba who built the theatre over a pre-existing noble palace. The façade, modified in the following year’s by Milano’s architect and scenographer Alessandro Sanquirico, reminds of the famous Lombard model of Teatro alla Scala, Piacenza Theatre is characterized by boxes, still privately owned today, with an atmosphere rich in red velvet and sumptuous gilded decorations. The elliptical plan and wood transform the cavea into an exceptional soul box able to enhance drama, music and singing. To obtain more stage space, originally quite narrow given the limit the seventies into an auditorium, known as Sala degli scenografi (Scenographer’s hall).
Hall of the Teatinis (Sala dei Teatini)
A complex decorative plan with troupe-l’oeil frames on vaults and in the domes, the walls present pictures of Saint, angels and prophet, scenes from the bible and allegories, by renowned painters among which there were Roberto De Longe and Giovanni Evangelista Draghi. The most interesting intervention that characterizes the church today and its new use is the wooden stage where once the main altar stood, protected by an innovative transparent acoustic chamber that turned Sala dei teatini in to a spaced specially designed for concerts and musical events.
Theatre joy (Teatro Gioia)
Since its foundation, approximately in the years 1000, the building has different religious and lay uses, until it was desecrated by Napoleon and was reconverted into Teatro Romagnosi. After the arrival o the jesuits in 1887 it was newly consecrated as Sacro Cuore Church. After the religious order moved again in 1992, it became a multipurpose hall, suitable for crazy performances and research workshops.
