Early history The Torre dell'Annona was a medieval stronghold of the
Orsini family and from the early 15th century acted as a pontifical prison. Prisoners included
Benevenuto Cellini who experienced the dungeon's lightless cells, one of which was known as "the pit",
Beatrice Cenci, and
Giordano Bruno who was imprisoned here before being burned alive in
Campo de' Fiori. In 1659-1660, it was used during the infamous
Spana Prosecution.
Theatre When the New Prison (
Le Carceri Nuove) was built in
Via Giulia, Tor di Nona was rebuilt in 1667 as a theatre patronized by
Queen Christina of Sweden and the best Roman company. In January 1671 Rome's first public theatre opened in the former jail. The Teatro Tordinona was inaugurated in January 1671 with the opera
Scipione Affricano by
Francesco Cavalli, with
Antonia Coresi as
Scipione and
Medea, and
Angelica Quadrelli as
Sofonisba and
Isifile. For the opening
Scipione affricano by
Francesco Cavalli was performed; also operas by
Antonio Sartorio,
Giovanni Antonio Boretto and
Giovanni Maria Pagliardi.
Filippo Acciaiuoli was the first director. The new pope
Clement X worried about the influence of theatre on public morals. When
Innocent XI became pope, things turned even worse; he made Christina's theatre into a storeroom for grain, although he had been a frequent guest in her royal box with the other cardinals. He forbade women to perform with song or acting, and the wearing of decolleté dresses. Christina considered this sheer nonsense, and let women perform in her palace.
Later history At the end of the 19th century, the neighborhood was partially destroyed because of the construction of the
Lungotevere, the alleys bordering the river. The whole north side of the street was pulled down, including buildings like the Teatro Apollo and the palazzo del Cardinale di Parma. Another blow came in the 1910s with the construction of via Zanardelli, which cut the thousand-year link with Via di Monte Brianzo. This accelerated the decay of the quarter, which in the 1940s became part of a development plan as part of the
fascist demolition strategy in Rome. As in
Borgo and
Via Giulia, this work was halted by
World War II. During the last years of
World War II, the Roman "mercato nero" (
black market) was located in the Tor di Nona quarter. In the postwar years, although the population had already left the quarter, a strong press campaign led by journalists like Antonio Cederna and intellectuals like
Italo Insolera and
Giulio Carlo Argan saved Tor di Nona from destruction. From that time until the present, the centre of Rome has been protected against further destruction. ==References==