Since the Thirties, The Puccini Theater in Corso Buenos Aires has been one of the most important place for entertainment in Milan. Today this great hall with 1600 seats, which during the years hosted opera, vaudeville, drama and remained active as a cinema until the mid-eighties, has finally been reopened, radically restructured and renamed “Elfo Puccini”. The renovation, which transformed the historic one-room into a modern multi-auditorium (800 total seats), has been funded by the Municipality of Milano (owner of the building), with the contribution of “Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali”, Fondazione Cariplo and Teatridithalia (that has paid the costs of the project, entrusted to the architect Marcello Vecchi) and in collaboration with Regione Lombardia. The operation, which lasted five years, returned to the city a technologically advanced structure that retains the finest details of the historic building, such as the stucco wall at the bottom of the old stalls, the mosaic floor of the foyer and the impressive scenic tower.
Sala Shakespeare, derived from the main body of the building, has 500 seats parterre with comfortable red chairs and a large stage with scenic tower.