Italy’s culture ministry has announced plans to acquire the historic Teatro Sannazaro in Naples following a devastating fire that severely damaged the 19th-century venue last month.
Culture minister Alessandro Giuli said the Italian state would purchase the theatre and ensure that its artistic activities continue while restoration plans are developed. “The ministry of culture will purchase the theatre and provide its managers with a space, which could also be within the Palazzo Reale, so that theatrical activities can continue,” Giuli said in a statement.
He added that the effort would involve cooperation between national and local institutions to preserve the theatre’s cultural role.
“It will be a collaborative effort to ensure continuity for the extended Sannazaro family, which includes the owners, the managers and, above all, the community that will continue to thrive,” the minister said.
The announcement followed a meeting between Giuli and local authorities including Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi and Campania regional president Roberto Fico.
Fire caused major damage
The blaze broke out in the early hours of 16 February and caused extensive damage to the theatre’s historic interior. Among the areas affected were the original stalls and the ornate ceiling, both key elements of the venue’s distinctive architecture.
Initial investigations suggest the fire may have been accidental. Authorities believe it may have been triggered by an electrical short circuit in a nearby apartment building before spreading to the theatre.
The destruction prompted widespread shock in Naples, where the Sannazaro has long been regarded as a cultural landmark. Often described as the “bomboniera” of Via Chiaia, the theatre has been a centre of Neapolitan stage tradition and experimental performance for nearly two centuries.
A historic Neapolitan theatre
The Teatro Sannazaro opened on 26 December 1847 on the site of a former Mercedarian monastery.
It was designed by architect Fausto Niccolini for the Duke of Marigliano as an intimate horseshoe-shaped theatre intended to serve as a cultural “salotto” for the city’s bourgeois society.
Over the decades it hosted some of the most celebrated performers of Italian theatre, including playwright and actor Eduardo Scarpetta. International stars such as Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse also appeared on its stage.
The theatre fell into decline in the mid-20th century and was briefly converted into a cinema before being revived in 1971.
Actress Luisa Conte and her husband Nino Veglia led a major restoration that returned the theatre to its Rococo splendour, restoring gilded stucco decorations and frescoes by artist Vincenzo Paliotti. In recent decades Conte’s granddaughter Lara Sansone has overseen the theatre’s artistic direction, maintaining its role as a centre for Neapolitan comedy and the Café Chantant tradition.
Last month’s fire has temporarily halted performances, but the government’s intervention aims to ensure the theatre’s long-term future.
