The Teatro della Rosa is undoubtedly one of the most significant symbols of eighteenth-century Pontremoli; the theater rises majestically on the left bank of the river Magra, just before the confluence of this with the torrent Verde.

The project to build a theater in Pontremoli dates back to the end of the seventeenth century, but the difficulties in reaching an agreement between the promoters of the initiative postponed the start of the works to 1739. They are in fact from that year, notarized by the notary Giuseppe Noceti , who decreed the foundation of the so-called “Accademia della Rosa”.

The twenty-five signatories, all members of the Pontremoli nobility, undertook to pay the costs necessary for the construction of the theater by paying thirty scudi each for each installment up to the conclusion of the work and agreed to assign, by lot, a box for each member and keep the remainder in common.

According to the documents, the 25 founding members were: Angelo Anziani, Giulio Cesare Bertolini, Giacomo Bologna, Domenico Maria Bologna, Gio Batta Bonaventuri, Francesco Caimi, Carlo Castellini, Leonardo Castellini, Bernardo Damiani, Cavalier Dosi, Gio Antonio Ferdani, Antonio Galli, Pellegrino Molossi, Francesco Noceti, Cavalier Pietro Giacomo Negri, Agostino Ranieri Parasacchi, Paolo Pavesi, Giacinto Petrucci, Pier Francesco Pizzati, Antonio Maria Ricci, Giuseppe Antonio Ruschi, Vittorio Uggeri, Giuseppe Venturini, Auditor Marzio Venturini and Domenico Zambeccari.

We do not have certain information about who designed the building, but an interesting document, published for the first time by Marco Angella in his degree thesis (“Origins and history of an 18th century Italian hall: the Teatro della Rosa in Pontremoli”), could suggest that Giovan Battista Natali contributed significantly to the building.
In 1765 the building was probably almost completed and discussions began over the choice of the artist to whom to commission the pictorial decoration of the theatre, the curtain and the moving scenes. The two “contenders” were Antonio Contestabili from Piacenza and Gaetano Ghidetti from Parma. Following various vicissitudes and disagreements within the Academy, in 1770 it was established that the Contestabili, supported by the majority, would paint at least six scenarios, but that the minority would be allowed to have Ghidetti or another artist paint one of the scenarios at his choice. The task was subsequently entrusted to Luigi Arenghi of Parma.

The inauguration of the building took place, in all likelihood, in correspondence with the carnival celebrations of 1772.

It is conceivable that in the original structure of the theater there were 44 boxes, arranged in three tiers: 14 boxes in the first tier, 15 in the second and 15 in the third.

In 1776, on the proposal of Mr. Mercanti Zucchi, it was decided to build a portico on the ground floor, over the entrance to the theater, and three rooms on the first floor, intended to house the headquarters of the Academy and accessible from the corridor of the first order of boxes. The entrance to the theater was then moved to the side, so that one did not enter directly into the hall, but into an atrium.

In 1839 the Academy, chaired by the Marquis Luigi Pavesi, decided to undertake the restructuring work of the theatre; to this end, the project presented by one of the academicians, Cavalier Giovanni Pizzati, was almost entirely approved and a commission was formed to oversee the work. In particular, this restructuring included: the total renovation of the roof, the construction of four new boxes on the proscenium (barcacce) which brought the number of boxes from 44 to 48, the renovation of the structure of the internal stairs for the third tier of boxes, the redefinition of the spaces in the entrance used as ticket offices, buffets and lounges, the construction of toilets at various levels and the renovation of the fixtures. The renovations were completed in 1843.

In the same period an organic regulation was also published in 61 points, approved by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, on which the emblem of the Academy was depicted: three roses surrounded by the motto “pungit et delectat”, with precise reference to the flower of the rose from which the theater takes its name.

In the eighteenth century the Teatro della Rosa was particularly active, testifying to the cultural vitality of Pontremoli and the whole of Lunigiana.

In the first decades of the 19th century not only comedies and dramas were staged, but also operas in music, thanks above all to the local Filarmonica dei Risorti Apuani, directed by the Pontremoli composer Giovanni Parolini. The theatrical passion of the Pontremoli is also testified by the many amateur dramatic associations of local amateurs who performed on the stage of the Rosa

(taken from “Almanacco Pontremolese 2002”, edited by M. Bianchi thanks to the degree thesis by M. Angella)

Closed at the end of the 70s due to inadequate structural conditions, the theater was only made usable again in 1998 thanks to the restoration and safety measures.