The first theatre was built on the project of Cosimo Morelli, a papal architect, and was inaugurated in 1779. It was dedicated to Carlo Coccia, who had been a praised choirmaster of the city’s cathedral choir. As time went by, though, the new structure proved to be unfi t to host the new kind of performances that the bourgeoisie widely appreciated and enjoyed, such as melodramas, circus spectacles and puppet shows. That is why in 1853-55 another theatre – the Teatro Sociale – was built. The two buildings refl ect the way in which the city’s society was structured: on one side the aristocracy that was anchored to more traditional shows, such as opera. On the other, the blossoming bourgeoisie and its appreciation for new kinds of entertainment. In 1880 the City Council purchased the two theatres with the intention of substituting them both with one that could better serve the city. In 1886 the works to build the new Teatro Coccia began. The existing 18th-century building was de-molished, and a new one was erected. It took up four times as much space as the older one, and it was built facing via Fratelli Rosselli, rather than Largo Puccini. The façade was embellished with a Baveno marble portico. The auditorium hosts balconies and boxes that have been decorated with Renaissance-style motifs. The stage was designed wide enough (16 meters by 23 meters) to host equestrian shows, which at the time were all the rage. The opening night took place on the 22nd December 1888, with a performance of Les Huguenots by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The music director was a young Arturo Toscanini, who was positively impressed with the night and remembered it fondly a few years later in a letter written to Guido Cantelli, his Novara-born pupil. The project was designed by architect Giuseppe Oliverio and it was completed only in 1928 due to financial troubles; in that very same year the Teatro Sociale was demolished to make room for the Post Office building, and as a consequence the Teatro Coccia became the symbol of the city’s cultural life.