The Teatro Garibaldi is the historic theatre of Modica. It was built between 1815 and 1820 by joining a warehouse and an aristocrat's house, with the name Real Teatro Ferdinandeo, in honour of the sovereign of the time.
What to see
The original building had two tiers of twenty-four boxes and a stalls area. In 1844 the engineer Salvatore Riga designed an enlargement that doubled the stalls and added a third tier of boxes and the gallery, on the model of the Italian-style opera houses of the main Sicilian cities. The work, carried out between 1852 and 1857 under the direction of the architect Salvatore Toscano, gave the theatre its present layout; according to the sources it opened with Giuseppe Verdi's «La Traviata». After Italian Unification it was named after Giuseppe Garibaldi.
The façade, described by the sources sometimes as Art Nouveau and sometimes as neoclassical, has two storeys closed at the top by a balustrade with a carved panel showing musical instruments. Above it, held up by two male figures, is a clock crowned by the eagle, symbol of the County of Modica.
Visiting
After restoration and safety work, the theatre reopened for good in 2004. To attend a performance or see the auditorium you need to check the programme: the sources give no visiting hours.
Our editors' tip
In December 2016 work began to restore the orchestra pit, with a view to programming opera performances: opera lovers would do well to check the season's listings.
