The Manoel, 100 Years Ago: Rare Photo From 1920 Shows Glamorous Ball At Valletta’s Beloved Theatre
At less than one square kilometre, Valletta is one of the most densely-packed architectural jewels in the world. An entire city-turned-UNESO World Heritage Site, Malta’s capital is home to glorious baroque churches, towering monuments and countless churches… but some buildings still manage to pop out.
288 years later, the Manoel Theatre is definitely still one of those highlights, having seen Valletta change around it over the decades. But while the capital city – and Malta itself – has been through a hell of a lot in the last three centuries, so has the old theatre itself.
In an unearthed photo from 1920, the Manoel can be seen being used for something completely different to what many of us are used to… a ballroom
https://www.facebook.com/teatru.manoel/photos/a.287133841388265/1985473644887601/?type=3&theater
Teatru Manoel (courtesy of Jason Degaura) shared the glorious photo on their social media earlier this week, quickly getting a great deal of attention from hundreds of users.
And while Manoel 2019 is by no means a shabby place to be (Europe’s third-oldest working theatre, it still hosts awesome productions on a very regular basis and even embraced the 21st century with modern renovations like a hydraulic orchestra pit platform and a climate control system under the auditorium), the sentiment seemed to be one of people mostly lamenting that they were born in the wrong era.
And to be very honest with ourselves, we can’t help but agree that this snapshot of the Manoel a whole 100 years ago just looks like the most fabulous piece of fun we’ve seen in a while!
Tag someone who’d love to experience a Manoel Theatre ball!
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