Teatro dei Risorti

A visit to the Montecatini Alto’s central square provides a unique opportunity to experience the intimate atmosphere which characterises the entire village and which particularly struck Giuseppe Giusti, the Monsummanese poet after whom the square is named. A place, therefore, devoted to art right from its name. It is here that one of the village’s most characteristic buildings can be found, the so-called Teatro dei Risorti, which became the home of the Accademia dei Filodrammatici (Amateur Dramatics Accademy) around the mid-18th century.

Its eclectic façade certainly makes it the most unique building in the village. The building is an extension of a 14th-century building owned by the municipality and known as the “Loggia del Parlascio”, where assemblies and markets were held. At the beginning of the 19th century, the upper floor was occupied by the Teatro dei Risorti, which represented the rebirth of life for the Filodrammatici (Amateur Dramatics), which had fallen into decay during the 18th century. Some important performers of Italian Operetta, such as Guido Riccioli, Ettore Petrolini, Fernanda Primavera, performed here.Furthermore, during the 1950s it also became a cinema, replacing the backdrop with a screen painted white. It is certainly one of the oldest theatre spaces in the province of Pistoia.