The historical site of Piccolo Teatro of Milan, in via Rovello 2, entitled to Paolo Grassi, was inaugurated on the 14th of May 1947. The building was pre-existent – the cloister dates back t the Renaissance and it has frescoes of Leonardo’s school – and before it was a working man’s club, a cinema and the site of the fascist barracks “Ettore Muti”.
From 1947, thanks to the support of the City of Milan and the collaboration of the Major Antonio Greppi, the building has been given in concession to Piccolo Teatro, becoming its first site.
On its little stage Giorgio Strehler presented his great magics such as Arlecchino servitore di due padroni of Goldoni, Life of Galileo and The Threepenny Opera of Brecht. Recently, the theatre has hosted several major productions of Luca Ronconi, great Italian and foreign productions signed by directors like Lev Dodin and Lluís Pasqual and it has seen the birth of the collaboration between the director Toni Servillo and Piccolo Teatro with La trilogia della villeggiatura of Goldoni.
Completely renovated by the Municipality of Milan within just two seasons, the site in via Rovello was returned to the people in Dicember 2009. The conservative restoration has made more comfortable the stage and the room, now with 488 seats.
The beautiful cloister, restored to former glory and converted into an elegant and charming place (free admission from morning to late evening), is a place where history goes hand in hand with modern technologies.