A Place for Daytime Performances

“Stories and secrets of the Arena of the Sun.”

Those were the words that caught my attention when a promotional posting popped up in Facebook for a tour in Bologna. We were in İzmir at the time, so I almost scrolled past. But then I noticed that the list of tour dates continued into the latter part of June. We’d be back in Bologna by then. I decided to check it out.

I prefer not to click on links in social media … nor in emails or texts for that matter. Instead, I go to the internet to do my research. It took just a click or two and the website for the Arena — a theater, actually — came up in the search results.

The small-group tour is designed to highlight the history of the theater, with access to areas not open to the ‘average joe’. It sounded interesting … Mui was game. So, I booked tickets online and minutes later I had them saved to my Apple wallet on the phone.

Fast forward to the present.

As hot as it was, we were tempted to take a pass on the tour, which is conducted mid-day. But we persevered. Luckily, the porticos along our walking route provided respite from the sun, and the brilliant orb in the sky had yet to crest over the buildings, so Via Indipendenza was still in the shade. Nonetheless, we were sweating buckets by the time we arrived at the theater … and continued to do so as we sat in the lobby, waiting for the tour to commence. Where’s the A/C for heavens sake?

Arena del Sole was the brainchild of Pietro Bonnie, a leather trader, who envisioned a ‘theater for the people’ … one that everyone could attend. Dating back to 1810, the arena was built during the French occupation of the city (1796-1816) as an outdoor venue on land that was once occupied by the old convent of Santa Maria Maddalena.

The terraced, semi-circular structure was named Arena del Sole for the simple reason that performances were held during the daytime to facilitate attendance in the summer months. Today, the façade that was built in 1888 is the only part of the facility that is in its original 19th century form. The inscription that proclaims the Arena del Sole as a “Place dedicated to day performances” is intact … as are the statues of Apollo, Poetry, and Tragedy.

Over the years, the theater underwent many changes. In 1916, movable covers were added to facilitate operating during the winter. While live theatrical performances continued, the building also began functioning as a movie hall. With the popularity of films came a major renovation in 1949 that converted the building into a movie theater. In the 1970s, the theater was transformed into a multipurpose cultural center.

In 1986, the City of Bologna acquired the property to renovate it as a prose theater. A wooden platform that could be raised and lowered with a water-powered mechanism was added ... a first in Italy. The new theater was inaugurated in 1995.

We learned all that and more during the tour.

Our two guides did a great job of taking us around, starting in the cloister of the old convent … used now for summer performances known as “il Chiostro dell’Arena.”

The tour format included anecdotes as well as facts about the venue’s history. At each stop, they did readings that brought to life the words of the actors and actresses who performed here … accompanied by soundtracks played on an old cassette machine. The tour was in Italian, but with our Apple AirPods once again pressed into live translation service, we were able to follow along. Technology at its best.

The tour route took us from the cloister, down into the area into which the stage is lowered … the ‘bowels of the building’ if you will. Next up was the small theater hall with seating for 170 people … yay, A/C. We then walked through make up and dressing areas and slowly made our way up via staircases, stopping at archival photos and posters for an explanation of what the original outdoor performances were like.

With each step that took us further up inside the building, the temperature rose. By the time we reached the costume storage at the very top of the building, we were once again sweating buckets … oversized postcard pamphlets, which most of us picked up in the lobby, were pressed into service as fans; water was copiously guzzled.

We were all grateful to make our way down to the main theater hall with seating for 870 people… yay, A/C. First we enjoyed the audience seats. Then we went into the wings to find ourselves on the stage. After our two guides regaled us with the many superstitions of the theater world, the curtain was opened for us all to take a bow!

Despite the discomfort of the hot temperatures, I’m glad we went on the tour … one of the last two of the season. After tomorrow, the tours are being suspended until the fall. As we experienced today, it simply gets much too hot to continue to visit the behind-the-scenes areas in the sweltering temperatures of July and August.Read more