The Teatro Valle in Rome, Italy’s oldest theatre, reopens. Gualtieri: “It’s a day of celebration”

The Teatro Valle reopens. This morning, the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, officially marked the reopening of one of the capital’s oldest and most historic theatres. “It’s a day of celebration,” said the mayor upon arriving at the press conference to present the restoration work. After more than 15 years of inactivity, nearly four of which were spent under occupation – from 2011 to 2014 – and twelve years of closure for renovation and restoration, today “a wound for culture is healed,” said the mayor. “We are thrilled for Rome, for the theatre, for culture. It is one of the most beautiful and important theatres in the world. After so many years of closure, it reopens more beautiful than ever, following an extraordinary restoration – a massive undertaking. It is a marvel, a splendour; it will resume its activities as part of Rome’s theatre scene. Pirandello from tonight – he has finally returned; we are absolutely delighted.”

This evening at 7 pm, the venue will be officially handed over to the Teatro di Roma organisation as part of an opening ceremony during which Francesco Piccolo will perform a monologue for the audience based on Luigi Pirandello’s play "Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore". This morning, on stage, in the presence of the Mayor of Rome, Gualtieri, and the City of Rome’s Superintendent for Cultural Heritage, Claudio Parisi Presicce, details were presented of the work carried out and the theatre season which begins this evening.

Present in the auditorium were the Councillors for Culture of Rome and Lazio, Massimiliano Smeriglio and Simona Baldassarre, and the President of the Fondazione Teatro di Roma, Francesco Siciliano. Work began in March 2023 and was completed a few days ago. 60 tonnes of iron were used, and 80 workers were involved in the refurbishment and restoration.

The symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the reopening of Italy’s oldest theatre still in operation, given that it was first opened 300 years ago, in 1727. Thanks to the renovation work, the theatre’s structure has now been completely refurbished, with a new fire safety system, a new air-conditioning system and a new lighting system. But what stands out, of course, is the restoration of the friezes – some of which were created by Valadier – the boxes, the antique clock and the ceiling painting by Silvio Galiberti. 

“For us, this is a day of celebration,” explained Gualtieri, “which belongs to everyone – to the city, the country and the theatre and cultural communities of Italy. Because this is not just any theatre; it is an extraordinary venue built on 7 January 1727 which, in recent times, has hosted artists such as Pirandello, Totò, Anna Magnani and Vittorio Gasmann, to name but a few. It was a challenging undertaking because the theatre is fragile and was not in the best condition. But we have brought it up to modern safety standards by restoring its historic structure, thanks to nearly 10 million provided by the local council and 1.2 million from the ministry.”