THEATRE, SCENOGRAPHY AND COSTUME MUSEUM

Via Berni,25

52011 Bibbiena

tel 0575/595486

Opening hours

Thursday - Friday - Saturday

10.00 - 12.00 / 15.30 - 18.30

Sunday 10.00 - 12.00

www.cittadelteatro.it

info@cittadelteatro.it

Bibbiena has been a synonym of “theatre”, “scenography” and “costume” for so long, because it is the hometown both of the inventor of  the comedy in prose, Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi, who was called “Il Bibbiena” and of Galli’s lineage. The members of this family were the most important architects and set designers of the XVIII century and they worked in all European royal courts of that period; above all, they were known for the change of the traditional perspective in scenes and for the building of important theatres. Thanks to Pier Luigi Pizzi, who has been a Bibbiena’s honorary citizen since 1993, thanks to Massimo Gasparon , an architect who re-enacted the Baroque theatre as the Gallis did and thanks to the production of Baroque opera, which was born for royal courts mainly, Bibbiena became the most important centre where everybody can talk about all the things that concern subjects like theatre, scenography and costume. Moreover, it is the place where lots of costumes, part of scenes, pictures, sketches and drawings made by the most famous artists/set designers (Pier Luigi Pizzi, Pomodoro, Canzonieri, Gambaro etc.) are collected.

At last, the “Theatre, Scenography and Costume Museum ” was born in 2005.

The Museum is divided into 7 parts, each one about one period of the whole history of theatre: from its birth to the present.

It starts with the birth of the theatre in Greece in the second half of VI century b.C.. In that period, there was the first competition between authors of tragedies. In this initial stage theatre is deeply connected with religion, especially with Dioniso, the god of wine, emotion and acting-out…

Then, there is a description of the Roman theatre of V century, with the birth and the development of the farce genre… a particular place is dedicated to the monumental Vitruvio’s work, entitled “De Architectura”, where the author talks about the figure of the architect and about all the skills he should have, just in order to carry out his job at best;

…After that, we arrive at the Humanist period, with the figure of Leon Battista Alberti. In this period theatre develops its three typical forms: drama, comedy and tragedy;

Keeping on, we can found the Renaissance and the importance of Cardinal Dovizi and his first comedy in prose, entitled “La Calandria” (1513), which was such a success that it crossed the Alps and it was performed in France;

…Another part of the Museum is dedicated to the work of Andrea Palladio and other artists of the Renaissance, such as Baldassarre Peruzzi, Sebastiano Serlio and their rebuilding of the ancient theatre;

…Afterwards, there is the Baroque theatre and the melodrama genre. This is the period of well-known set designers: Niccolò Sabbatini, Giacomo Torelli, Gaspare Vigarani and the family of Galli Bibiena. Moreover, there is the birth of the opera theatre in Venice and of the first school of baroque set designers;

The path ends with a general view of the scenographic trends in XVIII, XIX and XX century. In this section there are many donations of some contemporary set designers, rebuildings of famous theatres, such as Teatro Olimpico of Vicenza , lots of precious accessories, wigs and costumes, put on by the best opera singers, who pressed down  the most famous stages of the world.

Inside the Museum there is also a Centro Studi, that is, a place which has a computerized data bank, where sketches, drawings and unpublished scores, are catalogued.