If you love theater and art, then Bari is the perfect place to see!
Birthplace of Niccolò Piccinni, one of the greatest composers of the 1700s, Bari hosts some of the most important and prestigious Italian theaters.
From the Petruzzelli Theater to the Margherita Theater, from the Kursaal Santa Lucia to the Piccinni Theater. Scattered along the main streets of the center, these theaters embellish the panorama of our city with their architecture.
Ready to explore the places to see in Bari to get to know our theaters? Then continue reading!
The Kursaal Santa Lucia Theater
If you are passionate about theater, but also architecture and Liberty style, the Kursaal Santa Lucia Theater is the place for you to see!
A short distance from the Lungomare, in the heart of Madonnella district, the Kursaal Santa Lucia is one of the most beautiful theaters in Bari. With its late Italian Art Nouveau facade, this theater has made the history of our city.
Commissioned in 1925 by the prestigious Santalucia family, this politeama theater was created with the intention of competing with other historic theaters in Bari.
Inspired by the kursaal of Northern Europe, social clubs with ballrooms, the Kursaal Theater met with immediate success offering performances of prose, ballet, and operettas.
However, with the advent of fascism and during the Second World War, the slow decline of the Kursaal Theater began.
In 1936 it was transformed into a recreational center for the lower middle class, changing its name to “Dopolavoro delle Forze Civili”.
Even after the end of fascism and the Second World War, the Theater did not return to its original function. A modest cinema was set up inside, where poor quality films were shown.
It was in 1981 that the Theater seemed to return to its former glory. Thanks to massive restoration works, the Kursaal reopened its doors with a new artistic direction entrusted to the famous Italian actor Gigi Proietti.
The success of the Theater lasted until 2011, when it was abandoned until 2019.
In 2021 the Kursaal Santa Lucia Theater is returned to the people of Bari as a politeama public theater… and as a museum!
The interior of the theater can in fact be visited and cannot be missing from your list of places to see in Bari!
With our Private Tour Your Tour, you can admire the ceilings decorated in stone and gilded friezes, the art-deco interiors and the Sala Giuseppina, a huge hall that recalls the ancient noble ballrooms!
The Piccinni Theater
If not only you are passionate about art, but also history, then we have the perfect place to see in Bari for you: the Piccinni Theater!
At the center of one of the most important streets of Bari, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the Piccinni Theater is the oldest theater in our city!
The Piccinni Theater was inaugurated in 1854 as a politeama theater and was named after the famous Bari composer Niccolò Piccinni.
With its neoclassical arches and interiors in marble and gilded stucco, the Piccinni Theater has dominated the artistic history of Bari for more than 100 years.
Its stage hosted some of the most influential Italian personalities between the 1800s and 1900s, from the composer Giacomo Puccini to the conductor Antonino Palminteri.
What distinguishes the Piccinni Theater from all the other theaters in Bari is certainly its magnificent Palco Regio. It is a balcony located in front of the stage, decorated with a bas-relief and red velvets, where it was traditional for the royal families to sit.
The Palco Regio of the Piccinni Theater hosted King Francis of Bourbon and Queen Maria Sofia Amalia in 1859, and King Umberto I of Savoy and Queen Margherita in 1878.
The long renovation works began in 2010 and ended in 2019. Now the Piccinni Theater once again hosts classical, jazz and contemporary music performances, prose works and important cultural events!
Impossible to spend a day in Bari without dedicating a short visit to the Piccinni Theater! For this reason, with our Private Tour Your Tour, we allow you to closely observe this magnificent cultural attraction of Bari!
The Margherita Theater
Among the most important theaters in Bari there is also one that holds an important record among both Italian and European theaters!
This is the Margherita Theater, which has become famous throughout the continent because… it is built entirely on water!
One of the most characteristic places to see in Bari, the Margherita Theater boasts a history full of twists and turns.
It was built for the first time in 1910, with an all-wood structure. But just a year after its inauguration, it was destroyed by a massive fire whose causes are still unknown.
In 1914 the reconstruction work began and this time the structure of the building was made of reinforced concrete.
But why is the Margherita Theater built on the water?
The reason is as simple as it is funny. Due to an agreement between the Municipality of Bari and the powerful Petruzzelli family, owner of the most important theater in the city, it was forbidden the construction of new theaters on municipal land. This is why Teatro Margherita was built… on the sea!
Imposing and majestic, the Margherita Theater did not fail to arouse scandal and surprise among the people of Bari. Much larger than all the other buildings that overlooked the sea at the beginning of the 1900s, it was considered a real “eco-monster”.
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Yet, the Margherita Theater managed to establish itself as a center of aggregation and culture with its variety shows. During the Second World War it became a cinema, and, with the arrival of the liberation army, it became a point of reference for foreign soldiers, so much so that it was renamed the “Garrison Theatre”.
In 2009, however, massive renovations began in order to return the theater to its original function.
Since 2018, the Margherita Theater has hosted the BAC, the Museum of Contemporary Arts, and inside you can admire splendid temporary exhibitions by the most famous international artists.
Although the buildings that surround it are certainly taller than those of the 1920s, the Margherita Theater still dominates the landscape of the Bari seafront with its Art Nouveau facade and its mighty columns.
Difficult not to notice it and definitely impossible not to include it among the most characteristic places to see in Bari!
The Petruzzelli Theater
The fourth largest theater in Italy and a symbol of Bari: it is the Petruzzelli Theater, a must see for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in the history of our city.
Inaugurated in 1903, stars of music, dance and singing have performed on the stage of the Petruzzelli Theater: from Frank Sinatra to Juliette Gréco, from Herbert von Karajan to Rudolf Nureyev, from Joséphine Baker to Maria Callas.
Declared a “historical and artistic monument” in 1954, the Petruzzelli Theater was the protagonist of a tragedy in 1991.
On 27 October 1991, while Bellini’s Norma was being staged, a fire destroyed the Petruzzelli Theater: the magnificent, frescoed dome collapsed onto the stalls, preventing the flames from dispersing beyond the perimeter of the structure.
The causes of this fire are still unknown today and the Theater was closed for the next 20 years.
Only in 2009, after massive renovation, the Petruzzelli Theater was returned to the city of Bari according to the principle of “where it was, as it was”: from the Foyer decorated with gilded stuccos and statues of major Italian composers, up to the main hall, with its sumptuous boxes and ceilings decorated with allegorical bas-reliefs.
Now the Petruzzelli Theater has once again become the point of reference for all lovers of art, music and entertainment. Its seasons host orchestras, corps de ballet and actors renowned all over the world.
For this reason, when you are looking for a place to see in Bari, you cannot miss a visit to the Petruzzelli Theater.
With our Free Tour The First, we at Free Walking Tour Bari give you the opportunity to retrace the history of this wonderful theater in a funny way!
Come and see our beautiful theaters with our Free Walking Tours and with our Private Tours!