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::: Renewing, a timeless art
HANDSOME LAYING of Francesca Ferrari
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Restoring an old
floor can teach
you lots about
the techniques
originally used
for laying. If
the parquet you’re
restoring dates
back to the early
1900s, you’re
in for a thrill.
Now known as Teatro Sociale,
Teatro della Società in Bergamo,
Italy, first opened its
doors for the 1809 Carnival season.
The building’s origins date
back to 1803-1809 and the name of
Leopoldo Pollack, a student of
Piermarini. The architect designed
the volumes in neo-Classic style
with various tiers of boxes and an
orchestra pit in oval shape with
vaguely French feeling.
Commissioned by a number of
Bergamo’s aristocratic families
who wanted their own elite venue
as an alternative to the more
"plebian" Teatro Riccardi, the
Teatro della Società arose on
ground previously occupied by
Palazzo Pretorio.
The theater built entirely in wood
still shows its three tiers of boxes
with gallery and can seat up to
1300 spectators. Inaugurated in
1807, the theater remained open
for over 100 years with alternating
fortunes until it was definitively
closed in 1929.
Abandoned to relentless deterioration
during the 1900s, the old
Theater was included in numerous
and changing renewal projects.
In 1972, a part of the first
floor was occupied by the University
of Bergamo. The next phase
featured plans for demolition, futuristic
projects for recovery, and
continued changes in ownership,
until the building was finally purchased
by the Municipality of Bergamo (1974) and work for extraordinary
maintenance and the
establishment of safety conditions
was performed from 1978
until 1981. Since then, the building
has hosted exhibitions, above
all, until the start of the restoration
project undertaken by the
Municipality of Bergamo in 2006.
 ::: The restoration
project
The Project Supervisor and the
renovation designer was Architect
Nicola Berlucchi. The entire project’s
objective was to preserve
the historical and cultural characteristics
of the splendid Teatro Sociale
while ensuring respect for
safety standards by providing the
new stairwells invisible from inside
the theater and installing a
110 thousand liter water tank for
fire-fighting purposes beneath the
orchestra pit, for example.
The restoration project also envisioned
the preservation of all the
original decorations and functions
envisioned in 1800. There’s
also a Wagnerian “mystic gulf”
hooded orchestra pit that offers
the possibility of shifting the base
away from the audience pit. Steel
arches weighing 35 tons each
were installed in the Graticcia
ceiling grate area.
The final result was a balanced
compromise between faithful historical
preservation and compliance
to modern standards.
 ::: Wood floors
Restoration often provides an excellent
chance to learn the laying
techniques adopted originally, especially
when the floor to restore was laid in spruce at the start of
the 1900s, like this one assigned to
the loving care of Messrs. Marchesi,
Ghidelli and Birolini, the installers
summoned to the task.
The first thing the work team
composed of three specialists did
was a delicate exploratory screening
to assess the state of the old
floor in order to plot the next
phases before proceeding - also
on the basis of the instructions
provided by the Project Supervisor,
Architect Berlucchi - to the
finish requested by the client.
 ::: Getting to work
The work team’s precious experience
was essential in choosing
the first steps to be taken: after
the necessary screening, every single
plank was cleaned on site,
one by one, and even boards that
appeared hopelessly damaged
were recovered.
After cleaning and restoration, the
planks were nailed down end to
end over fresh beams and prepped
for polishing and painting.
In order to complete the finishing
requested by the Project Supervisor,
the work team called in technicians from the Vermeister Company
who outlined the work cycle and
the types of products to be used to
best satisfy the client’s technical
and aesthetic needs. In the end, the
choice of final finish went to Master
Fire (Class 1) varnish.
 ::: Experience to pass on
The renovation of the flooring at
Bergamo’s Teatro Sociale was a big
challenge in an important location,
but the final result left visitors breathless
one and all, walking on air.
As we mentioned above, a restoration project is also the occasion
to compare techniques and to
gaze into a mirror where sometimes
the image is cloudy in black
and white
But this time, the image reflected
was precisely the one desired, as
sharp and as clear as ever.
The only real difference between
the old and the new floor was the
finishing products supplied by
Vermeister where technology - differing
and complying with the latest
safety standards - made all the
difference. Even if wood was one
of the first materials Man used for
floors, the techniques for its laying,
polishing, and finishing have
changed enormously in the past two hundred years.
The restoration project returned
to the city of Bergamo a building
completely renovated to its original
vocation as theater in all its
former glory because the techniques
used - as we said - were basically
those applied originally.
This was possible only thanks to
the knowledge and experience
that have been passed down
largely from father to son, friend
to friend, and employer to employee
always in oral form… We
can only hope to be able to transmit
this precious legacy of experience
to future generations as well,
also in light of the fact that more
and more pre-finished floors are
laid today.
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