An authentic architectural gem and counted among the smallest theaters in Italy, the Teatro di Panicale is still used today for music festivals, theatrical seasons, and a chamber opera festival. This small theater was built by a group of young people from Panicale, who gathered in a society to escape idleness and unite spirits (...), having successfully completed a new theater, as stated in the original document dated August 14, 1692. In 1786, thanks to a new theater academy, the theater was renovated by Francesco Tarducci and was named Teatro del Sole. Only in 1856 was the theater transformed into its current form based on a design by Giovanni Caproni. The interior decorative painting was executed by the Perugian painter Alceste Ricci, who enhanced the environment with ornaments, gilding, and stuccoes, giving elegance to the new theater, which had also changed its name and was dedicated to Cesare Caporali (1530-1601), a famous "bernesco" poet of probable Panicale origins and active at the court of the Marquises of Corgna. The backdrop was painted by Mariano Piervittori in the 19th century and depicts Boldrino da Panicale, a medieval captain of fortune from the town, immortalized at the moment when he receives the keys of Perugia from the Priors of the city to thank him for saving them from a horde of Bretons.
