STREET A. MANZONI
Who is Alessandro Manzoni?
Alessandro Manzoni, is considered one of the greatest Italian writers.
He was born in 1785 to Giulia Beccaria (daughter of Cesare Beccaria) and, officially, Count Manzoni, two members of the Lombard nobility. The malicious tongues of the time, however, already insinuated that Manzoni's real father was actually Giovanni Verri.
Manzoni's notoriety is due to his very famous novel, 'I Promessi Sposi', the result in its final version of twenty years' work involving three different editions: the first version of the work, published in 1825, was not only entitled 'Fermo e Lucia' but was also written in Lombard; the final version arrived only in 1840.
The story takes place between Lecco and Milan and recounts the misadventures of two betrotheds, Renzo and Lucia, who are forced to postpone their wedding because of an overbearing local squire, Don Rodrigo. Despite all the difficulties and dangers they will have to face, not least the plague, in the end the two young people, who throughout the story maintain their faith in Divine Providence and are supported by men of the Church, will succeed in crowning their dream of love.
In addition to Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), Manzoni also wrote tragedies (Adelchi, The Count of Carmagnola), poems (the Sacred Hymns, but also civil poems such as Il 5 maggio, March 1821) and a historical essay, Storia della Colonna Infame (History of the Infamous Column), on the phenomenon of the Untori during the Milanese plague of 1630.
For his literary and political merits in 1861 Manzoni became a senator for life at the age of 75, when he was by then recognised as one of Europe's greatest writers; he also took part in the session of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1873 he died inspiring Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem Mass.
Politeama theater - history
The Politeama Ranscett was born as a popular theatre from the intuition of the leaders of a musical band, the 'Ranscett', who had found themselves able to invest a considerable amount of money in the construction of the building, which was inaugurated on New Year's Eve 1982. The Ranscett in fact until then organised dances on Sunday evenings in the then Piazza Mercato, now Piazza Repubblica, improvising tents in case of bad weather. The construction of a masonry theatre would have allowed them not only to continue the Sunday dances, but also to organise other types of shows, since at the time there was only one other hall in Varese, the Teatro Sociale.
The original building had a circular structure surmounted by a dome and inside it had a ballroom, a performance hall, a coffee lounge and a large garden. It also had two spare rooms, used for holding press conferences, exhibitions and shows. The theatre could accommodate up to two thousand spectators.
During the early 20th century, however, the building was requisitioned by the Civil Engineers and used as a warehouse. This remained its destination until, after the end of World War II, it was purchased by Armando Caravati, who decided to use it as a cinema: the inauguration took place on 5 April 1949, on the evening of Holy Saturday, with Puccini's 'Tosca'.
The Politeama took on its current appearance after the building was rebuilt following a terrible fire that destroyed the dome and ballroom on 14 March 1966. With the occasion of the new works, the management decided to give up the theatrical use of the hall, maintaining only its function as a cinema, but with a much larger hall. The Cinema Politeama opened in 1969 and was closed in 2008. There has long been talk of its imminent reopening.