The Teatro Olimpico in the Flaminia area of Rome has reopened after a six-month restoration project by a team of four architects, Francesca Argentero, Barbara Deledda, Carlotta Montefoschi and Martina Murzi. The work has been completed in six months and includes the removal of a false ceiling in the foyer and the opening of tall windows in the bar at the side of the theatre, which give magnificent views onto Villa Madama on the far side of the river Tiber. New lighting has been installed and parquet flooring replaces fitted carpeting in the auditorium. The theatre has been decorated in black, grey and white with the seating upholstery in grey, the only splash of colour being the stage curtain, which remains traditionally red. The theatre, which was originally built in the 1930s, has undergone various changes over the years and has now been returned to the lines of its original project.

The Teatro Olimpico has been home to the Accademia Filarmonica Romana, one of Rome's oldest musical institutions, since the early 1960s, and the restored theatre opened with a performance of "Pasiones Tango y musical", the first of a ten-day run of tango from Argentina.

Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile di Fabriano 17, Rome, tel. 06 3265991.

For information about the programme for the 2005-06 season see. www.teatroolimpico.it or www.filarmonicaromana.org.