Feronia Theatre

Following a lengthy debate in the City Council, which began in 1732, several representatives of the local aristocracy established a theatrical consortium and raised the funds necessary to build a new theater in Piazza Maggiore. In 1740, the design was entrusted to the architect Domenico Bianconi of Fano, who conceived a wooden structure with a “bell-shaped” plan, a large stage, three tiers of boxes, and an upper gallery with a colonnaded balcony.

The Teatro de’ Condomini was completed and inaugurated in 1747. In 1823, however, the wooden structure was considered outdated and unsafe due to the risk of fire. As a result, the theatrical congregation commissioned the design of a new masonry theater from the young local architect Ireneo Aleandri (1795–1885), who had studied at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome under the guidance of the Neoclassical architect Raffaello Stern and who, in the same year, also received the commission for the design of the Sferisterio of Macerata.

Despite being constrained by the limited space available, Aleandri designed an elegant, vertically oriented structure with a horseshoe-shaped plan, three tiers of boxes, and an upper gallery. For the first time, he introduced Bibiena-style lunettes in the ceiling, which would later become a distinctive feature of his theatrical architectural language.