The Maddalene Theater is a small theater in Padua located inside the Maddalene oratory, the church of a 14th century convent complex located in via San Giovanni da Verdara. The convent has been occupied since the post-war period by an industrial technical institute, while the former church, deconsecrated, has been used as a stage space since 1995. Since 2012 the theater has been closed for restoration.
The foundation of the convent known as "delle Maddalene" dates back to 1395 by the Gerolimini fathers of the congregation of Blessed Pietro Gambacorta from Pisa.
The church has been rebuilt several times. A sacred building dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene had already existed since the second half of the 14th century. This first oratory originally belonged to the Convertites, who had been based in the area since 1304. There was also a second oratory, dedicated to Saint Barnabas, dating back to 1363, also occupied by the Convertites and later handed over to the friars, who arrived in Padua in 1395 and recognized as an order in 1420, which almost immediately began the construction of the new convent.
A new, larger church replaced the previous one in 1649. The roof was completed the following year, but construction continued for many years, until the 18th century.
The complex developed through reconstructions, demolitions and expansions, until the suppression of the monastic order between 1771 and 1772.
The convent was later reused with various functions. It was the seat of the university veterinary school from 1773 to 1819, whose museum and infirmary continued to function until 1824. It became the Fatebenefratelli hospital from 1824 to 1898, then a civil hospital from 1902 to 1911 and a military hospital from 1915 to 1917. of the Balilla National Opera and of the "Alberto Cavalletto" technical school since 1917; since 1922 it was the seat of the "Galileo Galilei" technical institute. From 1934 the church began to be used as a gym. After the Second World War the complex was occupied by the "Leonardo da Vinci" industrial technical institute. There was a static-conservative restoration in the early eighties.
The convent complex has therefore undergone numerous functional changes and reconversions, significantly compromising its original structure. Two cloisters and the large church have survived, while the vegetable gardens, occupied by the school buildings, have been lost.
Over time, the oratory was completely stripped of its furnishings and architectural decorations, including the altars, leaving a large empty hall. It was used as a boxing gym, then as a municipal multi-purpose hall, until 1995 when the municipality of Padua entrusted the management of the space to the Tam Teatromusica theater company, which created new technical stage systems in collaboration with the municipality (lattice, framing with wings and skies, new layout of the steps for the public) to improve the work of the hosted companies and the reception of the public.
Since 2009, the restoration and adaptation of the "Leonardo da Vinci" institute has been underway, which in the meantime passed to the province.
The theater was closed in 2012, following the earthquakes of 20 and 29 May 2012, and declared unusable. Two years later, in March 2014, restoration work began.
