Teatro del Popolo, Rapolano Terme

The Teatro del Popolo is a theater in Rapolano Terme, owned by the local Philharmonic Dramatic Association of Rapolano Terme.

Through the initiative of the local Philharmonic Society Rapolano Terme, around the middle of the last decade of the 19th century, it had its own theater "destined for the worship of civilization." The theater, designed by the Sienese architect Bettino Marchetti, had the typical shape of the Italian theater with a horseshoe plan and 33 boxes divided into two tiers and a gallery; the hall, instead of the first tier of boxes, has an open gallery that through elegant columns allows access to the seats from all around the perimeter of the hall.

Managed since 1914 by a new Society that united the Philharmonic and the Dramatic, the theater hosted transient companies, and by the 1930s it also began a cinema business. To fulfill this new function, the central stage in the second order was converted into a projection booth.

After becoming the headquarters of the Fascist Party and suffering severe damage during the last world war, it was promptly rebuilt and resumed operations in 1946.

In 1983 it underwent a major structural and decorative restoration with the re-roofing, stage floors, electrical system, and vault decoration.

The current drafting is due to further adaptation work carried out between 1985 and 2001, designed by architect Claudio Starnini. Today the theater, preserving its original appearance as a theater hall of eclectic forms typical of the late 19th century, constitutes a medium-sized structure particularly suitable for cultural initiatives in the capital and the Sienese area. In 1995 it was declared a cultural asset of historic and artistic interest by the Ministry of Cultural and Environmental Heritage.

Thus recovered the theater, thanks also to the patronage of the Municipal Administration, in addition to a respectable theater season with a large audience following, also hosts interesting initiatives: the international literary prize "Il Molinello" and the national review "La Goccia d'oro." And again, the Philharmonic Society, a fairly rare and significant case of running a theater space almost exclusively with the volunteer work of its members, runs a theater school for children.