The building in Via Santa Franca, which in 1904 was donated to Società Filodrammatica Piacentina, was built in the 16th century and hosted several activities over the centuries. 

Its origins date back to 1549 when the Cistercian nuns of Santa Franca wanted to build a church on the intersection of Via San Siro and Via Solferino (today Via Santa Franca), to preserve the relics of their patroness. 

The church had a single nave with barrel vault. Nearby, a convent for the nuns was created and now it belongs to Piacenza Conservatory of music, dedicated to Giuseppe Nicolini from Piacenza. Following the suppression of monastic orders by Napoleon, the building – which included the church and the monastery – was inherited by the state untile Maria Luigia d’Austria bequeathed it to Piacenza Municipality. They used it for military purposes to host the Austrian Guardia Nazionale, Vigili del fuoco and Genio militare. 

Later on the complex became a music school first, then a printing press. In the first years of 1900 the former Santa Franca church became a theatre that included a parterre, an open gallery, and a large stage. The Art-Nouveau façade was designed by Gazzola. This art form, predominant at the beginning of the 20th century, influenced the whole project. The decorative theme with curved lines that characterizes the building outside – a pattern known as ‘butterfly wings’ – embraces the doors and the parts in wrought iron, especially the small lamps presenting a curious coiled tail, where the same pattern is repeated. 

Inside, the taste is a 19th century one: delicate flowery decorations embrace the room, from the proscenium arch to the ceiling, brightened by a double row of golden balloons accompanied by a pattern with butcher’s broom leaves.

Today the theatre offers about 300 seats.