Municipal Competition and Theatre Politics : the Case of Feltre’s Teatro Sociale in the Nineteenth Century

This paper offers an overview of Feltre’s Teatro Sociale as a case study for the multitude of medium-sized provincial theatres built or renovated in the first half of the nineteenth century in Italy, when Feltre was part of the Habsburg Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. Each provincial theatre had a symbolic function for its town and gave it a certain reputation. Driven by a love of their artistic and cultural heritage and a desire to enhance and promote it, local administrators tried to outdo their neighbours through building a beautiful theatre with impressive restorations and decorations. For this reason, theatre activities and seasons reflected the ‘good taste’ of the administrators and consequently enhanced the good name of the town. By means of its theatre, a small town such as Feltre could showcase its importance towards authorities and gentry who spent the summer and autumn season in their own countryside houses and compete with its neighbours.
Specific attention will be paid to the networks that Feltre built with neighbouring communes and with the main cities of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia such as Venice and Milano: partnerships with musical and theatrical venues; contacts with famous artists for the decoration of the theatre; employment of impresarios and professional itinerant companies. Finally, the paper will focus on the role of the cultural intermediaries and how the theatre managed to get their support in defending the performances and influencing the public.