The imposing building in the Cannareggio district of Venice, on the road from the Santa Lucia station to Rialto, has an unusual history. This early 20th century neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau jewel, which once housed the operas of Rigoletto and Goldoni, is now used as a supermarket after a restoration process that saved it from abandonment. idealista/news visited Teatro Italia, the most beautiful supermarket in Italy, for you.
The history of Teatro Italia in Venice
The history of the former Cinema Teatro Italia began in 1916 when, after two years of work, this Art Nouveau and neo-Gothic (Italian Art Nouveau) building by architect Giovanni Sardi was inaugurated in Campielllo dell'Aconeta, in the Canareggio district.
The building echoes the lagoon Gothic style, particularly the single and triple lancet windows of the Doge's Palace in St. Mark's Square and Palazzo Foscari, home of the University of Venice.
Teatro Italia was one of the first buildings constructed with reinforced concrete and wrought iron, clearly visible in the four entrance portals of the main façade (where two coats of arms and a lion of St. Mark also stand out) designed by Umerto Bellotto, who also designed the chandeliers that adorn the interior and the doors.
The Venetian painter Alessandro Pomi, who also painted four of the eight panels decorating the walls, and depicting putti and bouquets of flowers, was responsible for the ceiling frescoes in the central hall, which represent an allegory entitled the Glory of Italy. The other four are the work of Guido Marussig from Friuli.
Teatro Italia soon became a point of reference for Venetian social life, used first as a theatre and then as a cinema active until the late 1970s. Later, the Teatro Cinema was handed over to the Cà Focari University to be used as a congress and conference hall.
Closed for several years and destined for abandonment, the building was sold at the end of the 1990s to the Coin family, who chose Aspiag Service (Despar dealer for the north-east) to give it a new lease of life. On 28 December 2016 it was re-inaugurated as a supermarket.
The restoration work of Teatro Italia
The restoration work cost around four and a half million euros and was carried out in close cooperation and under the supervision of the Superintendency, which also supervised the supermarket set-up. The solutions found for shelves, systems and lighting took into account the need to preserve the integrity of the rooms and decorations.
The renovation work was carried out respecting the criteria of sustainability. The lighting, for example, is totally LED and positioned directly inside the shelves, so as not to affect the frescoes and wall structure.
The heat produced by the motors of the refrigerated counters is totally recovered for heating and to produce hot water for sanitary use; there is a vapour treatment plant for odour and emission abatement and doors on the refrigerated counters and walls to reduce consumption and limit temperature and humidity dispersion
