Milan’s first underground theatre
The Olympia Theatre in Milan, at Largo Cairoli 2, was opened in 1899 to a design by architect Giuseppe Pirovano and was the city’s first underground theatre.
It took its name from the previous activity that took place in the same space, it was in fact a sports gymnasium but at the behest of the Suvini/Zerboni Society it was converted into a place of culture.
A 1,000-seat theatre consisting of chairs and tables, not a traditional auditorium.
After the First World War it was restructured and a traditional stalls of seats was created, which, however, due to the presence of some columns inside the space, created some difficulties for some spectators to see the stage. The columns were finally removed in the 1950s.
During its years of operation, the Olympia saw many prestigious shows and names and in 1960, in an attempt to modernise it, it was renamed: Olimpia Music Hall.
However, its fame, prestige and new identity were not enough to save the Olympia, which closed for good in 1964.
