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Designing an entirely new theatre

The official decision to build was made on 18 February 1779 by the Council of Cernita, the municipal council of the time. As the minutes state, the site chosen was located “next to the road leading to Girfalco Hill, and precisely the half-floor on the south side, past the Government Apostolic Palace”. This choice conditioned the development of the original architectural structure, becoming one of its main features.

The proposal made by Augustoni and Paglialunga was initially approved. However, shortly afterwards the project was rejected and to give the venue more prestige, construction was entrusted to a more renowned professional. Thus Cosimo Morelli, an architect of the Papal State, was appointed to design and construct the building. He had already overseen a similar building in Imola, his home town. In hindsight, it turned out to be the right decision, given that, thanks to his genius, the grandeur of the theatre in Fermo and its perfect acoustics have lasted to the present day.

Whilst retaining the site identified in initial approval of the project, Cosimo Morelli proposed a large-scale building with an elliptical hall, four tiers of boxes and a gallery. The project was similar to French theatres, and the slightly-earlier La Scala Theatre in Milan (1778) had only an extra tier of boxes.

Work began in September 1780 and was completed ten years later. Luigi Paglialunga, who had initially designed the first project, took on the role of capomastro or master builder, a figure that was halfway between an architect and a worker.