The Town Hall and the Theatre of Crevalcore (BO). The buildings’ history after the Unification of Italy

The paper describes the construction events concerning the Town Hall and the city theatre of Crevalcore (BO), result of the historical research belonging to a broader study aimed at analyzing the damage condition of both buildings after the Emilia earthquake (2012). In this work, data from archival sources – a rich documentation of both architectural projects found at the Municipal Historical Archive, Central State Archive, Accademia degli Indifferenti e Risoluti Archive – are integrated with those collected by direct survey during in-field inspections carried out to assess the seismic damage. Afterwards, the critical interpretation of the whole documentation together with the in-field survey allowed the reconstruction of the history of the two buildings’ construction. The current structure of both buildings is due to the renovation plan of public buildings started nationwide after the unification of Italy (1860). Until then the theatre and the town hall were lo- cated in the same building where, since 1726, a small wooden theatre had been located next to the functions of city government. During the definition of post-unification interventions, some project proposals confirm the inte- gration of the two functions in a single building. However, a lively debate between the local ad- ministration and the citizens, these latter unsatisfied with the project proposal advanced for the theatre, leads to the construction of the theatre in a different area, confirming the site of town hall. In this paper, the story of the construction of the municipal theatre and the transformation of the town hall is supported by the analysis of the motivations that guided the choices of projects to be built, linked to logistical and economic difficulties. A concluding note highlights the dual value – technical and documentary – of this work, which provides restoration projects with important information required to repair the seismic damage and in addition it is a valuable reference for local construction history.