The Salone Margherita (Via Due Macelli 75, Rome, the underground theater accessed by the staircase below the street level of Via Due Macelli, the street connecting the Piazza di Spagna and Via del Tritone in the specific Tridente quarter that the 19th-century Roman leisure culture developed as its entertainment district) is the most atmospheric surviving example of the Italian café-chantant/variety theater tradition: the Salone Margherita opened in 1898 as one of the first Italian café-concert venues (the format imported from Paris, the café with the stage, where the audience drank wine and watched the singer, the conjurer, the comedian, and the dancer in the specific non-operatic entertainment format that the emerging urban middle class preferred to the formal opera house), and has maintained a continuous performance tradition in the specific underground Belle Époque space since its inauguration.
The Salone Margherita architectural character: the underground room (the specific below-street-level position that the 1898 construction required. Via Due Macelli building occupying the slope between the higher Piazza di Spagna level and the lower Via del Tritone level, with the Salone in the specific basement space that this level difference created) has the Belle Époque decoration intact: the frescoed ceiling (the painted ceiling with the specific Art Nouveau decorative program of the 1898 inauguration, the swirling female figures, the musical motifs, and the specific warm color palette of the period), the original plasterwork columns and cornices, and the specific theatrical intimacy of a room seating approximately 200-250 people in the cabaret format (the round tables with the candlelight, the low stage, the performing space immediately accessible to the audience).
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Salone Margherita: Program, History, and Visit
The Historic Tradition
The Salone Margherita performance tradition (the variety show format that has been the Salone's primary program since 1898): the specific history includes the performances of Ettore Petrolini (the Roman comedian and playwright whose specific Roman theatrical tradition was developed at the Salone Margherita in the early 20th century. Petrolini's character "Gastone," the specific Roman street type whose malapropisms and linguistic inventions entered the Italian comic tradition, was developed at the Salone's stage in the 1910s-1920s) and the variety shows of the 1930s-1950s (the period when the café-concert format evolved into the more elaborate variety show with the chorus line, the comedian, and the operetta singer as the standard three-part structure that the Italian television variety show would then codify). The current Salone Margherita program (check salonemargherita.com for the current season): typically the Italian musical comedy, the cabaret, and the variety formats, the same entertainment categories that the 1898 inauguration featured, in the same space.
Salone Margherita: tours & tickets
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See availability & prices →Compare tours on Viator →We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.The Visit Experience
The Salone Margherita evening (the performance typically begins at 21:00 or 21:30. Arrive 30 minutes early for the table service and the pre-show atmosphere): the specific Salone Margherita experience, descending the staircase below street level, emerging into the Belle Époque underground room with the frescoed ceiling, the candlelit tables, and the stage, is the most specifically atmospheric theatrical experience in Rome, more intimate and more historically concentrated than any of the major Rome theaters. Ticket prices: approximately €15-30 depending on the program, available at the Salone box office or online.
Q&A: Salone Margherita
Do I need to speak Italian to enjoy the Salone Margherita program?
The Italian musical comedy and variety format at the Salone Margherita is primarily in Italian, the comedy and the verbal content require Italian comprehension for full enjoyment. The musical components (the songs, the dance numbers, the instrumental music) are accessible without Italian. If the program for your visit is a musical show rather than a comedy, the language barrier is less significant. Check the specific program description before booking to determine the language-dependency of the content.
Internal Links
- Teatro di Varietà Roma: Il Salone Margherita
- Tridente Roma Sera: Dal Salone alle 23
- Roma in Inverno: Il Cabaret Storico
- Fotografare il Salone Margherita: Belle Époque Sotterranea
- Tridente Romano: Dalla Scalinata al Salone
- Teatro Italiano: Dal Caffè-Concerto alla TV
- Roma Nascosta: I Locali Storici Sotterranei
