Garibaldi Theater of Avola
The Teatro di Avola was dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1882, the year of the death of the Hero of the two worlds. It was reopened to the public in 2011, after almost seventy years of closure, and after a long recovery and restoration activity which, however, managed to preserve its original appearance.
It is a neoclassical architectural structure from the second half of the nineteenth century. The theater was built on an area of 493 square meters, and is an "Italian-style" theatrical structure, with a horseshoe plan and three tiers of boxes, ending with a frescoed vault depicting the dancing Muses in a starry sky. The paintings in the vault of the stalls and the vestibule are by Gregorio Scalia, the ornaments and gilding by Giovanni Basile, the scenes and the curtain were painted by Mario Scribani, Lepoldo Galluzzi and Luigi Masi, all three scenographers of the San Carlo in Naples .
The building has an elegant Neo-Renaissance façade in white stone, shows horizontal bosses in the lower part, and three doors with round arches in the central part that lead into the vestibule. The façade, in the upper part, has pilasters ending with Corinthian capitals surmounted by a frieze carved in bas-relief with refined festoon motifs alternating with lire.
The entrance is decorated with six paintings by the painter Gregorio Scalia depicting the faces of the composers Gaetano Donizzetti, Giuseppe Verdi, Vincenzo Bellini, Gioacchino Rossini, Enrico Petrella and Domenico Cimarosa.
Inside the Garibaldi Theater, in the room dedicated to the Avolese musician Salvatore Falbo, a permanent exhibition on the history of the theater and on the numerous artists who have trod the scenes.
