The Marruccino Theatre

All melomaniacs know the Marruccino, the famous theatre located in Chieti, the pride of the city. And rightly so because it can boast the recognition of Lyric Theatre of Abruzzo and the even more prestigious one of Theatre of Tradition, which is attributed to those theatres that are not only rooted in the territory, but that qualify for a lyrical production of high artistic quality.
The Marruccino was built in the early 19th century on the walls of a deconsecrated church and as a Royal Theatre was named after Ferdinand I of Bourbon. It took its current name after the unification of Italy when the homage to the King of the Two Sicilies seemed unsuitable for the times and the reference to an ancient Italic population was preferred.
The theatre immediately welcomed famous artists and all the greats of the theatre have trodden its stage, Eleonora Duse, Emma and Irma Gramatica, Cesco Baseggio, Nicola Rossi Lemeni, to name but a few.
Anecdote tells of the danger the Marruccino ran in 1851 when the then Archbishop of Chieti remembered the walls of the deconsecrated church on which the theatre stands and demanded its return. The mobilisation of the citizens prevented the destruction.
The theatre has obviously undergone alterations and restoration over the years, but the beauty of the building and decorations remains intact. It is impossible not to mention the sumptuous curtain decorated by the Neapolitan painter Giovanni Ponticelli, and the two terracotta pages placed at the entrance door to the stalls and boxes, the work of the sculptor Costantino Barbella, a friend of Gabriele D'Annunzio.