Teatro Sangiorgi
A summer garden theatre that opened with La bohème in 1900 and grew into the city’s Liberty pleasure-house.
At a glance
Mario Sangiorgi wanted an open-air theatre for summer performances on his land off Via Antonino di Sangiuliano, and the engineer Salvatore Giuffrida built it for him between 1897 and 1900. It opened on 7 July 1900 with Puccini’s La bohème. Roofed over in 1907 so it could work year-round, the Sangiorgi became the centre of a whole Liberty entertainment complex. After decades of closure it now serves as the second hall of the Teatro Massimo Bellini.
Key facts
- Architect: Salvatore Giuffrida
- Built: 1897–1900; enclosed 1907
- Opened: 7 July 1900, with Puccini’s La bohème
- Decoration: Salvatore Di Gregorio
- Address: Via Antonino di Sangiuliano 233
- Now: second hall of the Teatro Massimo Bellini
History
The theatre began as a garden stage for the Catania summer, when the heat made enclosed halls unbearable. From 1906 the Sangiorgi also showed films, one of the first cinema spaces in the city, and in 1907 it was enclosed and turned into a conventional theatre. At its height the complex around it held two auditoriums, one seating seven hundred, along with a café-bar, a restaurant, a hotel and the cinema hall.
The fortunes of the building followed those of the genre. As the café-chantant faded the Sangiorgi declined and closed. The Ente Autonomo Teatro Massimo Bellini acquired it in 1988, restored it, and reopened it in 2002 as a second venue for the Bellini’s concert season, from opera to contemporary work.
What you see
Behind the street front lies an elliptical hall with an orchestra pit and, in its theatrical phase, some 477 seats. The Liberty decorations were the work of the Neapolitan painter Salvatore Di Gregorio, whose programme set the floral, sinuous tone that the café-chantant audience expected.
The intimate ellipse is the point: this was never a grand opera house but a place built for closeness between stage and listener, which is why it still suits chamber and contemporary programmes.
Practical information
- Open to the public for performances of the Teatro Massimo Bellini season.
- Check the Bellini programme for dates and tickets.
- The exterior on Via Antonino di Sangiuliano can be seen at any time.
Getting there
The theatre is at Via Antonino di Sangiuliano 233, in the heart of the old city a short walk above Via Etnea. From Catania Centrale it is about twenty minutes on foot, or a short ride on the city buses that serve the centre.
Nearby
- Teatro Massimo Bellini, the city’s opera house
- Via Etnea and the Giardino Bellini
Sources
- “Teatro Sangiorgi”, Wikipedia (it)
- Teatro Massimo Bellini, Catania
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