Building Physics during the Restoration of the Teatro Nuovo in Spoleto

The Teatro Nuovo, the theatre where the famous international “Festival of the Two Worlds” is based, after a full restoration work and functional adaptation, has been returned to the city of Spoleto and its audience. The restoration works of the theatre started in 2003 for improving the safety levels and for adapting the operational functionality of the machines on the stage to the current needs of the show, including the acoustic performances. In particular, the Department of Energetic Engineering, Nuclear and Environmental Control of the University of Bologna collaborated with the Teatro Nuovo from the acoustic point of view, In order to monitor the acoustic performance of the concert hall, two campaigns of acoustic measurements, respectively before and after the restoration works, have been conducted, verifying the conservation of its original acoustical characteristics. The measurements were performed through an omnidirectional loudspeaker, a dummy head and a Soundfield probe. The results of the measurements of every campaign are presented in this article.