Founded by Carlo Schmidl, devoted to stage memories, with the farsighted donation of his historical and musical collection, the Civic Theatre Museum documents the life of theatre and music in Trieste from the 18th century through to the present day. Costumes and costume jewellery, posters, flyers, photographs, prints, medals, paintings, musical instruments, objects, archival materials and autographed manuscripts are the backbone of a theatre of memory that for almost a century has increased its collections in the spirit of its founder.
Hosted in the Giuseppe Verdi Municipal Theatre between 1924 and 1991 and from 1992 in the temporary accommodation of Palazzo Morpurgo in via Imbriani, the Museum has found a definite location at Palazzo Gopcevich, built by Spiridione Gopcevich in 1850, created by the architect Giovanni Berlam, and purchased and transformed into a museum site by the City of Trieste.
The two "souls" of the Museum (an exhibition and a documentation centre) are reflected in the layoutof spaces within the Palace. The first floor, with its beautifully inlaid floors and its richly decorated ceilings, offers an exhibition dedicated to the history of theatrical buildings and the protagonists of music and entertainment in Trieste over a period of more than two centuries. A significant section of the exhibition is devoted to the collection of European and extra-European musical instruments, and to the faithful reconstruction of the workshop of Trieste's lutier Francesco Zappelli. The exhibition of musical instruments, with particular attention to the mechanical ones, is onthe second floor of the palace, where there are also spaces dedicated to the memory of Giorgio Strehler (whose personal archive the museum stores) and the documentation and consultation services.
1. Musical instruments collection;
2. Theatrical costume collection;
3. Collection of paintings and sketches;
4. Verdian memorabilia;
5. The Giorgio Strehler collection.
