Florence, completed demolition of Teatro dell'Oriuolo. The former stage will be a digital theater

The demolition of the dilapidated structures near Florence Cathedral that spanned about 300 square meters and were the brickwork enlargements of theformer Oriuolo Theater, built in the 1950s in front of the Oblate Library, has been completed. An indoor garden-square will be created in this area for cultural purposes, and the theater’s old stage will be recovered to become a digital theater.

A project that started with demolition work and will now continue with reconstruction work. In the garden-square, on an area tripled in size compared to the original one thanks to the demolition of the structures, a multifunctional space will be created that will be used for exhibitions and a large film wheel; the premises of the ’former stage’ will instead be transformed into a “digital theater”: a physical place equipped with digital instrumentation to allow citizens and visitors to experience digital arts directly without the mediation of a screen.

“A great cultural work for the post-pandemic restart,” commented Florence Mayor Dario Nardella, “but also a volumetric lightening intervention in the heart of the Unesco area that frees up a new large green square for cultural enjoyment. An innovative intervention in Italy, on the model of overseas digital museums, which will have the unique characteristic of being integrated with the Oblate library and being a stone’s throw from the Duomo.”

“Not a simple redevelopment,” added Public Works Councillor Titta Meucci, “but an intervention of building rarefaction that frees up space, giving life to a new green area in the center of the city with a less-than-zero-volume operation. A modern urban regeneration that achieves a building recovery of a dilapidated and poor quality structure built by the municipality, bringing to light the original garden of which the battlements can still be glimpsed. The recovered structures will be dedicated to a theater of the visual arts, maintaining a cultural function that is going to take on a contemporary character and also complement the Oblate’s offerings.”

Closed for nearly 30 years and in a state of neglect, the Teatro dell’Oriuolo represented one of the most active theatrical realities of postwar Florence. Housed from 1951 to 1993 on the ground floor of Palazzo Bastogi and particularly in the courtyard, it was impossible to bring it up to standard and preserve it due to the dilapidated state of the original structures, which were therefore demolished, recreating the original open space suitable for staging and events. The demolition work involved about 300 square meters, mainly the area of the former stalls, and involved a commitment of about 150 thousand euros, to which must be added the 450 thousand euros earmarked for recovery for a total amount of work of 600 thousand euros already financed by the City Council.

Florence, completed demolition of Teatro dell'Oriuolo. The former stage will be a digital theater

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