The Teatro della Cometa: History and Origins
Mimì Pecci Blunt on the stage of the Teatro della Cometa, Rome 1960 Photo by Slim Aarons/Getty Images
Flyer of the March cultural meetings, 1960
Flyer of the March cultural meetings, 1960
Tomaso Buzzi,
The theater with boxes divided by small columns covered
in ivory moiré, 1957
Tomaso Buzzi, The theater with boxes divided by small columns covered in ivory moiré, 1957
…a little theater inspired by the old court theaters, that is, an intimate, precious, and refined theater in its details…
This is how Mimì Pecci Blunt described the Teatro della Cometa in a 1959 letter, offering valuable insight into the motivations that led her to create this space
The idea of building a theater arose in the years before
the war, in continuity with the cultural
initiatives she had already promoted,
such as the Galleria della Cometa,
literary lectures in the salon of her
palace in Piazza d’Aracoeli, and the wellknown
The turning point came in 1937 with the purchase of a small building adjacent to the Pecci Blunt’s residence. The couple began transforming the building with a philological and forward-thinking approach: while preserving the historic façade, they modified the interior to suit theatrical functions. The initial work was entrusted to engineer Stefano Gentiloni Silverj, but was halted by the outbreak of World War II. After returning to Italy, they decided to resume and complete the project. The task was entrusted to architect Tomaso Buzzi, who, according to Mimì, completed a “true tour de force of skill and brilliance.”
The theater was designed with a simple structure, consisting of stalls, a parterre, and two balconies. Thanks to engineering solutions, the space took shape and was inaugurated on November 20, 1958, with a performance of the play The Caprices of Marianne by Alfred de Musset, under the artistic direction of Linda Chittaro. Her leadership lasted only one season; in November of the following year, management was taken over by impresario Remigio Paone, a prominent figure in Italian theater and founder of the Teatro Nuovo in Milan.
In the 1960s, under the direction of Diego Fabbri, the Teatro della Cometa experienced a period of great renewal and experimentation. The theater hosted works by contemporary authors such as Beckett, Ionesco, and Stravinsky, directed by leading figures like Giorgio Strehler, along with concerts and performances of both drama and opera. The cultural importance of the theater was also recognized by Antonio Muñoz, who described it as a “jewel of art at the foot of the Capitoline Hill.”
In 1968, a short circuit in the stage area caused a fire that completely destroyed the theater. After Mimì’s death, the building remained closed for about seventeen years, until 1986, when her daughter Viviana decided to reopen the space with the help of engineer Giorgio Barattolo. The reconstruction was entrusted to architect Alberto Filippi.
Giorgio Barattolo managed the theater for over thirty years, until the handover took place in 2020.
The Bal Blanc, Paris 1930. Photo by Paul O'Doy
Mimì
Pecci
Blunt
Mimì Pecci Blunt
Mimì Pecci Blunt, Villa Reale of Marlia, Lucca, September 1958
Tomaso Buzzi, Parterre entrance, 1956-7
Mimì Pecci Blunt with Mirko Basaldella, Corrado Cagli, Sibilla Aleramo, Alberto Moravia, Giuseppe Ungaretti, maybe Madame de Chambrun, Libero de Libero, Galleria della Cometa, Rome 1936
Anna Laetitia Pecci Blunt, better known as Mimì, was born in Rome on March 15, 1885. She was the daughter of Count Camillo Pecci, Head of the Pontifical Noble Guard and nephew of Pope Leo XIII, and Silvia Bueno y Garzón, a Spanish noblewoman of Cuban origin. Mimì grew up in an environment deeply immersed in culture and the arts.
After World War I, she moved to Paris. At the time, the French capital was a hub for intellectuals, painters, and musicians— a unique setting where personal and artistic relationships flourished in literary salons and the trendiest cafés. It was within this cosmopolitan context that she met Cecil Blumenthal, a New York banker and art collector, whom she married in 1919.
The couple settled in a hôtel particulier at 32 rue de Babylone, where Mimì’s salon became one of the most vibrant spots on the Parisian scene, frequented by artists and intellectuals such as Salvador Dalí, Paul Valéry, and Jean Cocteau. Among the most famous events were the costume balls, such as the ‘Bal Blanc’ of 1930, described by Vogue as “the most spectacular ball of the Parisian season.”
During the same years, Mimì developed an interest in Italy, often spending holidays there. In 1923, she and her husband purchased Villa Reale di Marlia in Tuscany, once owned by Elena Bonaparte, Napoleon’s sister. In 1929, they also acquired Palazzo Malatesta in Rome, a 16th-century building designed by Giacomo della Porta.
In Rome, Mimì continued her patronage of the arts. Starting
in 1933, she organized the Spring Concerts with musicians
Goffredo Petrassi, Vittorio Rieti, and Mario Labroca, focusing
on classical and contemporary music. In 1935, together with
poet Libero De Libero, she founded the Galleria della Cometa,
named after the heraldic emblem of the Pecci family.
The gallery opened with an exhibition of drawings by Corrado Cagli. It quickly gained prominence in the artistic landscape of
the time, and in 1937, The Cometa Art Gallery was opened in
New York. However, due to racial laws introduced in 1938 and
pressure from the fascist press, the gallery was forced to close.
During World War II, the family moved to the United States. Upon returning to Italy, Mimì enthusiastically resumed her cultural activities. In 1956, she dedicated herself to the construction of a theater in the annex of the Roman palazzo. Teatro della Cometa was inaugurated in 1958 and hosted contemporary plays, concerts, and works by renowned authors. Its activity was interrupted by a fire in 1968, but in 1986 it was reopened by her daughter, Viviana Pecci Blunt, in collaboration with engineer Giorgio Barattolo.
Throughout her life, Mimì was internationally recognized for her commitment to the promotion of culture and the arts. She received the Gold Medal for Art and Culture from the Italian government and was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by the French government. Anna Laetitia Pecci Blunt died on October 29, 1971, at her residence in Marlia.
Tomaso Buzzi,
Ideas for chandeliers, 1957
Buzzi's Project and the Restoration
Buzzi's Project
and the
Restoration
Tomaso Buzzi, Decoration
of the hall with architecture
in motion, 1957
Tomaso Buzzi, Decoration
of the hall with architecture
in motion, 1957
In 1956, architect Tomaso Buzzi was commissioned by the Pecci Blunt family to design the Teatro della Cometa, in a building adjacent to their palace in Piazza d’Aracoeli in Rome.
The design featured a rectangular layout on multiple levels: a basement for service rooms, a ground floor with an entrance and auxiliary spaces, a first floor with a double-height main hall, a concave gallery, and the stage, and a final, smaller level created in the attic.
The function of the theater, similar to that of the Pecci Blunt family’s salons, was to attract and guide the audience. Inspired by this vision, Buzzi designed chandeliers in the shape of stars and comets, placing them along the main paths to orient the spectators. Special attention was also given to the design aspects, optimizing the floor plan, the orientation of the boxes, the stage opening, and the overall scenic setup.
On October 18, 1968, a fire caused by a short circuit destroyed the theater. After a long period of inactivity, in 2020, the space underwent a major restoration and recovery project. The new design, by Fabio Tudisco and Andrea Panzini, in continuity with the original vision, saw the recovery of historical elements designed by Tomaso Buzzi and Virgilio Marchi, such as the brass doors, chandeliers, and stage machinery. The revolving stage, inactive since 1968, was restored. Furthermore, accessibility and visibility for the public were improved, including the restoration of a foyer overlooking the garden of Palazzo Pecci Blunt.
The Teatro della Cometa Today - Between Research and Performativity
Tomaso Buzzi, The stage set up for the opera, 1956
The Teatro della Cometa will reopen on the 25th of May, 2025, marking a new chapter in its history and reaffirming its role in Rome’s cultural scene. With a multidisciplinary program that brings together drama, dance, music, performance, and international festivals, the Teatro della Cometa aims to be a vibrant, accessible, and experimental space.
The theatre presents itself as an open work, rooted in memory but oriented toward the future— a meeting place for languages and generations. It will host original projects, new dramaturgy, and contemporary adaptations, fostering dialogue between established artists and emerging talents. At its core is an inclusive vision, focused on celebrating a diversity of expressive forms and offering a critical space for experimentation, exchange, and dialogue.
A key component of its cultural offering is a public program that includes workshops, residencies, meetings, and conversations, designed to create ongoing engagement with the city and its creative communities. In addition, a documentation center will be launched, dedicated to the theatre’s historical archive— a valuable resource for studying the cultural scene of the postWorld War II era—which will be digitized and made accessible.
The new visual identity, curated by Studio Sonnoli, draws inspiration from collage and visual poetry: images and words from contemporary life are reworked and assembled with irony and evocative power, reflecting the bold and multifaceted spirit of Mimì Pecci Blunt.
The Teatro della Cometa seeks to offer a stimulating and engaging combination of artistic experiences, appealing to both local and international audiences. It aims to serve as a platform that gives space and visibility to artists and ideas, providing a curated yet broad view of contemporary culture from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Today, in dialogue with its own history, the Teatro della Cometa looks to the present and the future as a space for experimentation, critical thinking, and the intersection of languages— a place that continues to reinvent itself.