The Salieri Theater

The history of the Salieri Theater begins in the early twentieth century, with the desire of some citizens to build a theater in the city of Legnago, lying on the banks of the Adige river in the middle of the Veronese plain.

The construction of the theatrical structure began in 1911, according to the joint project of Vittorio Bressan and Benvenuto Maggioni, who were commissioned by a group of people from Legnago gathered in the "Società anonima teatrale". The works suffered a setback due to the outbreak of the First World War in 1915. Only in 1925 the works were resumed in great haste to be able to celebrate the 1st centenary of the death of Antonio Salieri, who died in Vienna in 1825.

Following the economic difficulties that prevented the completion of the building, the "Società anonima teatrale" was forced to sell the structure to the Municipality, which used it as a cinema. In 1941 the interior of the theater and its façade were conceived and designed by the architect Luigi Piccinato, but this project was not completed due to the Second World War outbreak.

The Salieri theater was finally inaugurated on September 15, 1956 and for over thirty years its programme has always been full of theatrical performances, as well as being used as a cinema. The building was closed in 1989 in order to allow the realization of some renovation and extraordinary maintenance works.

The work was entrusted to the Veronese architect Luciano Cenna who preferred to work through a conservative restoration by recovering all the pre-existing elements, especially in the decorative elements of the columns and pilasters of the atrium and the foyer. After those works, the theater reopened on February 13th, 1999.