The Teatro Comunale of Thiene is a splendid Art Nouveau gem, a rare example of its kind still existing in the province, designed by the architect Romano Dal Maso.
The hall is elegant and rich in wooden elements, including the turned columns that support the two airy loggias with six boxes. In the architectural elements, scrolls, sinuous lines, and soft shapes prevail, while the decorations favor flowers, ribbons, figures, and female heads, creating a continuity full of harmony and grace.
The Comunale Theater was built starting in 1897, initiated by the municipal engineer Romano Dal Maso. In 1904, after a two-year interruption due to the death of engineer Dal Maso, the direction was assigned to Ferruccio Cattaneo, who completed the work within a year. It is precisely to Cattaneo that the Art Nouveau decoration of the interior is owed, which constitutes the most interesting aspect of the Theater.
The exterior, on the other hand, is the work of engineers Fonato and Dalla Valle who, surely for economic reasons, reduced the original project agreeing on a rather simple style in stark contrast to the stylistic choices of the interior.
The official inauguration took place in April 1905 with the staging of the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi.
In 1913 it was purchased by the Municipality of Thiene, and consequently its name changed from "Social" theater to "Comunale".
From 1926 it also became a cinema and in 1932 the projection equipment with sound was inaugurated.
The conditions of the structure began to become precarious as early as the mid-1930s, and in the 1950s discussions about the demolition of the structure began, a solution that was expressly prohibited by the Superintendency in 1963.
In 1980, at the initiative of the Municipality of Thiene and the Superintendency for Artistic and Historical Heritage of Veneto, the conservative restoration work began, entrusted to architects Clemente di Thiene and Paolo Torsello. The restoration process was multi-phased: the first phase, which can be placed between 1973 and 1981, involved study and reflection on the possible recovery program to be adopted, and the second involved its implementation. The final result fully recovered the architectural values of the past significantly integrated with modern needs for functionality and safety.
The fully restored theater was officially inaugurated on the evening of March 27, 1985, and today it is at the center of the cultural and social life of the City. Every year, it hosts a theatrical and cabaret season, a musical and lyrical season, as well as dance and ballet performances, along with numerous conferences, conventions, and various types of events.
