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The fire of 1826

On the night of 23 – 24 January 1826, a fire damaged part of the theatre. Following this event, all activities were once again suspended. To repair the damage, between 1826 and 1830 substantial restoration and refurbishment work was carried out on the interiors, under the direction of engineer Giovanni Battista Dassi. The current shape of the theatre, with 124 boxes, a proscenium and a stage with a single opening is the result of the transformation that took place in those years, based on a design by the architect Giuseppe Ghinelli who was also responsible for Teatro delle Muse in Ancona and Rossini Theatre in Pesaro.

The priceless ceiling painting, the “vault”, with tempera painting by Luigi Cochetti, depicting the Gods of Olympus, with Jupiter, Juno, the three Graces and the six dancing Night Hours, intent on listening to the song of Apollo, dates from 1828. In the centre is the 56-arm gilded iron chandelier with wooden leaves, originally powered by carbide, brought from Paris in 1830. Cochetti’s mastery is also responsible for the historical curtain, depicting Harmonia handing the zither to Fermo’s genius.

In those years, Alessandro Sanquirico, the greatest set designer of the time, one of the most illustrious workers at La Scala in Milan, painted six striking backdrops for Fermo Theatre, still preserved in the warehouses. They are extremely important as they are the only original backdrops of his still in existence.