The history of Crevalcore’s ancient theatre, planned by Giacomo Monari, a student of Ferdinando Galli Bibiena, is linked to the activities of the “Accademia degli Indifferenti Risoluti” (1648).

When the old theatre was demolished in 1874, a new one was created. The decoration was entrusted to the local Crevalcore artist, Gaetano Lodi, the talented decorative artist to the Court of Savoia, who achieved international fame for his decorations in the foyer of the Paris Opera and in the Khedive’s Palace in Cairo.


For the theatre’s interior, which still exists today, Lodi created a flame-red floral composition in oriental style, which spreads through the whole theatre, achieving its greatest effect on the ceiling.

The curtain, created to look like an ancient tapestry, shows Marcello Malpighi at the court of the Grand Duke Ferdinando II of Tuscany. The theatre was inaugurated on the 3rd September 1881 with Verdi’s Il Trovatore.

In 1906, with the arrival of socialists in charge of local government, the theatre began to host political and social events, provoking the wrath of the owners of the theatre’s boxes.

During the Second World War, the Germans turned it into a field hospital. Today it has a rich theatrical calendar and is available for other events.