Teatro Grande

The Teatro Grande stands on the same site where, in 1664, the Accademia degli Erranti, after being granted the area by the Republic of Venice (1643), opened the first public theater in Brescia.

The 17th-century palace still has its façade, divided by three large windows, facing Corso Zanardelli (the former Wine Market); the portico was added later in 1780 by architects Antonio Vigliani and Gaspare Turbini. The wide staircase below leads to the main entrance of the theater and continues into the foyer, decorated by the Brescian painter Gaetano Cresseri in 1914 with two large monochrome frescoes ("Tragedy" and "Comedy"). At the top of the staircase, three 18th-century portals lead to the Sala delle Statue, which features a coffered ceiling (18th-century decoration uncovered after more than 150 years by a restoration project that began in 2022). From the Sala delle Statue, one enters the Ridotto (the former academic hall of the Erranti), and by turning left, one reaches the theater hall with its typical Italian "horseshoe" shape, designed by Milanese architect Luigi Canonica and inaugurated in 1810 with a grand opera performance composed for the occasion by Simone Mayr. The ceiling is decorated with golden stucco geometries, and the frescoes by Magnani are arranged in concentric circular crowns made up of oval monochrome medallions with cherubs, monochrome female figures, and allegories referring to comedy, tragedy, music, and dance.

By passing through the northern side of the Ridotto, one can access a small room where ornamental paintings by master Francesco Tellaroli, created in 1787, can be admired, and which still houses the theater's café (the Caffè del Teatro Grande – Berlucchi).

In May 1904, Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly was enthusiastically received at the Teatro Grande in Brescia; also King Vittorio Emanuele III attended the performance.