3. ADAMIĆ'S HUGE THEATER

On 28 December 1798 Adamić made the plan for the New Theatre. At that time the building of the large Theater a der Wien and Teatro nuovo in Trieste had just started. Adamić's theatre did not lag behind those two impressive buildings at all.

Adamić insisted that the theatre be built on the location of the sentry building (today this place is occupied by Palazzo Modello) although the room between the existing houses was rather small. The elliptical ground plan shows that he was familiar with the theories about the function of such a form which provides the audience with the best visibility and sound quality.

The stage that he designed was quite small because, in his opinion, the purpose of a theatre was to be a social meeting place rather than a place for cultural events. He also incorporated numerous business places in the building (e.g. a casino, a café, a chamber of commerce). The aim was to encourage social gatherings and, thus, also cover the building costs.

As regards objections against the size of the theatre, Adamić replied that he expected Rijeka's population to triple. He also founded an orchestra and a music school for the education of musicians. However, the first opera seasons did not start until 1833. Adamić also lived in his “theatre apartment” and was very proud to be the owner of “one of Europe's most beautiful theatres”.