In 1786, twelve families from Panicale founded a new company, which was called Accademia Teatrale; they asked Francesco Tarducci to build a beautiful wooden theatre, called Teatro del Sole (Theatre of the Sun) because of its position.
The rectangular hall was initially composed of a stage and a ‘palchettone’ supported by columns. Then, the ‘palchettone’ was transformed into 18 small balconies, in two rows.
In 1856 the Theatre was in very bad conditions; it was enlarged and renovated by the heirs of the first members of the society. Giovanni Caproni expanded the stage, increased the number of the balconies to 24, and he placed a large gallery above the balconies with cast iron railings. The painter Perugino Alceste Ricci painted it all white and decorated it with gilding. The hall was elegant, happy and peaceful. The cost was more than a thousand Roman crowns .
The Theatre was reopened to the public during the Carnival of the year 1858 under the name Theatre “Cesare Caporali ” in honor of the poet born in Panicale in 1530 and died in 1601 in Castiglione del Lago. The famous painter Mariano Piervittori (at the time he was working in Panicale, at the Villa Mancini in Lemura) gave his contribution to embellish the Theatre in 1869, painting the main curtain that represents the famous Captain Boldrino Paneri of Panicale, while receiving the keys of the city of Perugia.
In 1921 the theatre has been restored and painted by a talented artist called Ascanio Guglielmo.
