Teatro e Casa Natale Giuseppe Verdi

The theater is located in the Rocca (formerly Castello dei Pallavicino), of extensively remodeled thirteenth-century foundation, which today presents itself in the appearance it was given in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Previously there was another theater, just in the same place. Verdi had performed there in his youth, conducting a symphony for Rossini's Barber of Seville.
The idea of ​​building a new theater had already circulated in the town in 1845 but the project was shelved until the Municipality bought the fortress in 1856.
The construction took place in the years between 1856 and 1868, despite the contrary opinion of the Maestro. He was in contrast with the people of Busseto for their intrusiveness in his private sphere and because he considered the new theater "too expensive and useless in the future".
So at the solemn inauguration of August 15, 1868, when, to honor him, almost all the ladies dressed in green, while for the gentlemen green was a must in the ties, he was conspicuously absent, although two of his works were set up on the occasion: Il Ballo in maschera and the Rigoletto. Even afterwards he was careful not to set foot there, despite having offered a considerable sum of £. 10,000 for its construction and while owning a stage. The theater, designed by the architect Pier Luigi Montecchini, is accessed from the portico, then climbing the staircase decorated with a Verdi bust by Giovanni Dupré; the decorations belong to Giuseppe Baisi and Alessandro Malpeli from Parma, while the medallions on the ceiling, depicting the Comedy, the Tragedy, the Melodrama and the Romantic Drama, are the work of Isaac Gioacchino Levi (1865) from Busseto.
The Theater, which was equipped from the very beginning with every more functional structure, has recently been restored, brought up to standard and reopened; its capacity is 300 people.

Verdi's Birthplace
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi, of Carlo and Luigia Uttini, was born at eight in the evening on 10 October 1813, as shown in the birth certificate (written in French, since at the time the Municipality of Busseto was part of the Department of Taro, directly annexed to France).
In the modest building, also used as a backyard, located at a crossroads in the center of the village, the father ran a tavern with an adjoining shop of various stuff; the mother was a spinner. Tradition has it that during the birth, as the annual celebrations of S. Donnino, patron saint of the diocese are underway, the music of a group of wandering players was a good omen for the future activity of the unborn child. According to recent studies, the Verdi family was a family of small non-literate owners: in fact, innkeepers often read letters to those who were unable to do so. The legend of the destitute family, of the poor and uneducated peasant, of the hungry young artist, later fed by the publisher Ricordi, would therefore have to be resized.
The most evocative of Verdi's places, thanks also to the important recovery and restoration work begun in 2013, does not fail to move the ever-numerous visitors at the thought of the triumphal achievements of the composer. However, I do not forget his origins, he wrote in 1863: “I have been, am and will always be a villager from Roncole”. On the facade of the house, a plaque dated 1872 recalls that the Pallavicino marquises, who owned it, wanted the house to remain as it was then; over time other commemorative and celebratory plaques have been affixed: to remember, in particular, the one desired by the poor of Roncole benefited by the Maestro (1901). In 1913, the centenary of his birth, a bronze bust made by the sculptor Giuseppe Cantù was placed in the garden in front of the house.