Teatro Politeama Mario Foglietti

The Teatro Politeama Mario Foglietti is Catanzaro’s municipal theatre, designed by Paolo Portoghesi with engineer Franco Portoghesi. Opened in 2002, it stands on the site of the earlier Politeama and its adjoining market, both demolished before construction of the present building.

Why it matters

The theatre combines a contemporary architectural design with the traditional horseshoe form of an Italian opera auditorium. It is named for Mario Foglietti, a Catanzaro journalist, writer and television author who served as the city’s superintendent and promoted the theatre project. The building is a municipal cultural venue and an important work by architect Paolo Portoghesi.

What to notice

The facade has an undulating surface that the regional tourism authority compares with Bernini’s Baroque experiments. Inside, the auditorium follows a horseshoe plan with five levels of boxes above a sloping parterre. Seven-pointed stars appear in the box decoration. The building’s exterior and auditorium contrast a moving sculptural form with the more ordered geometry of the traditional theatre hall.

Context and history

Catanzaro’s earlier Politeama, a cinema-theatre dating from the 1930s, stood on the site until the 1990s, when it and the adjoining market were demolished. The new theatre, designed by Paolo and Franco Portoghesi, was inaugurated in 2002. It bears the name of Mario Foglietti, whose work in journalism, television and theatre was closely connected with Catanzaro’s cultural life.