The “Ridotto” is part of the Masini Theatre, designed and built in the second half of the eighteenth century by the Faentine architect Giuseppe Pistocchi, principal architect of the neoclassical art of the city. Under the arcades of the Masini there are accesses to the various spaces and services of the Theatre, the first of which accesses the Ridotto, which was connected to the “noble barcaccia” in the third order of the boxes; that connection is not accessible. In the eighteenth century it was customary to establish a connection between the Town Halls and the Theatres. So also for the Masini Theatre and Manfredi Palace through the magnificent Cento Pacifici Gallery, linked to the Ridotto. It is a beautiful room, also designed by Giuseppe Pistocchi, who prides himself on the magnificent decorations on all the walls and on the ceiling of Felice Giani, in collaboration with the quadraturist Serafino Barassi and the great statues of Antonio Trentanove, the same artist who has created the impressive crown of caryatids that underlies the theatre’s gallery.
The reduced includes other important rooms that overlook Piazza Nenni and Via Pistocchi, characterized by beautiful vaults in barellum, some walls covered with fabric and stucco frames.
A mural painting dated 1899 by Achille Calzi was brought to light during the restoration.
Address
Piazza Nenni 3 – 48018 Faenza (RA)