The municipal theatre «Francesco Saverio Mercadante» is Cerignola's main theatre. Built to a design by the architect Leopoldo Vaccaro, it was inaugurated in 1868.
What to see
In its present configuration it has two galleries, which after the building's two renovations replaced the original three tiers of boxes. Its history goes back to 1854, when the tax collector Giuseppe Cannone proposed to the decurionato to assign to a committee the proceeds of a withholding, eighteen hundred ducats, to build a theatre; the architect Panzini was entrusted with the project and the choice of site, the locality «Beato Felice». The initial project, of twenty thousand four hundred ducats, was judged too costly, as was the next one by the architect Giuseppe Ricapito; in the end Vaccaro's was accepted, of nineteen thousand three hundred and sixty-six ducats, giving up some finishing works.
To the thirty-six hundred ducats available at the start were added another three thousand eight hundred and ten raised by public subscription and two thousand donated freely by citizens; the engineers who directed the works cut their own fees in order to finish them. The theatre is one of the most important monuments for the people of Cerignola, as the self-taxation shows that involved the citizens, who felt the building of a theatre to be a need.
Visiting
The theatre is in the heart of Cerignola, which in recent years has encouraged the opening of many venues in the square in front. The theatre season is run in collaboration with the Teatro Pubblico Pugliese and consists mainly of prose theatre and theatre for young audiences; programme and times should be checked.
Our editors' tip
The citizens also took part in the construction with sixty thousand bricks, iron and water.
