The traders and shipbuilders Onofrio and Antonio Petruzzelli commissioned the theater in Bari. The engineer Angelo Bari Cicciomessere, their brother-in-law, drew up the designs. A contract was signed with the city on January 29, 1896, work began in October 1898 and ended in 1903, and the theater was inaugurated on February 14, 1903, with Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.
The interior was painted by Raffaele Armenise. It is the largest theater in Bari and the fourth largest in Italy by size. The article does not name its style or give dimensions.
An arson-caused fire destroyed it on October 26 and 27, 1991. It was rebuilt and reopened on October 4, 2009, with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and it now hosts opera, ballet and concerts.
Comments