Teatro dei Varii

The Teatro dei Varii is an eighteenth-century theatre in Colle Alta. Built for the Accademia dei Varii and inaugurated at Carnival in 1762, it is one of the smallest Italian-style theatres in Tuscany.

Why it matters

The theatre grew from a medieval hospital for the poor, first recorded in 1207. The Accademia dei Varii took over the building in 1695 and adapted it for performances; its mid-eighteenth-century reconstruction created the theatre that survives today.

What to notice

The auditorium has a horseshoe plan and three tiers of boxes. Painted decorations, including allegories of Music and Poetry, were recovered during the late twentieth-century restoration. The brick façade and ground-floor loggia were restored in 1926.

Context and history

Engineer Ferdinando Morozzi began the theatre project in 1748; Antonio Galli Bibiena and decorator Odoardo Ferrati completed it. After the Accademia donated the building to the municipality in 1982, a restoration from 1985 to 1991 recovered the painted decoration and returned the hall to multipurpose use.