Teatro Sistina, Theater on Via Sistina, Rome, Italy

Teatro Sistina is a theater building in Rome dedicated to musicals and theatrical performances. With roughly 1,000 seats in the stalls and about 600 in the gallery, it accommodates medium-sized productions and creates a close relationship between stage and audience.

Built between 1946 and 1949 to a design by Marcello Piacentini on the site of the church of Santa Francesca Romana a Strada Felice, the theatre opened on 28 December 1949 with the film Le mura di Malapaga. In October 1950 Pietro Garinei and Sandro Giovannini launched its new season with La Bisarca, and on 15 December 1952 their musical fable Attanasio cavallo vanesio, starring Renato Rascel, opened here. A short-lived conversion to a Cinerama cinema, with a screen 27 metres wide, was reversed the following year.

The Sistina is where Garinei and Giovannini premiered Rugantino and Aggiungi un posto a tavola, and where Delia Scala was spotted in 1953 during a Red Cross charity Charleston and chosen to lead their new musical comedy. The name comes from Via Sistina, the street where the theatre stands.

The venue sits on Via Sistina in central Rome and is easily accessible on foot. Visitors should check performance schedules before a visit and can purchase tickets directly or book in advance.

The theatre was built on the site of the church of Santa Francesca Romana a Strada Felice, demolished to make room for it between 1946 and 1949. Shortly after opening, the final scene of Totò cerca moglie was filmed inside, with Totò and Annie Sommers taking refuge in the hall.