When visiting an Italian theater, never mention the “V” word.
That instruction came from Markus Scherer, the architect overseeing the interior renovations at the Stadttheater, also known as Teatro Puccini, the municipal theater in the small city of Merano in South Tyrol, a multilingual autonomous Italian province with Austrian roots.
“You are not allowed to say the word ‘violet’ because, for Italians, it brings bad luck to the theater,” he said, pointing at walls freshly painted in the color that shouldn’t be named. “We call it lavender; further down, the tone is aubergine.”
Superstition aside, Mr. Scherer and a team of restoration artisans have used the color and many others to recreate the theater’s original Art Nouveau décor, of which little trace could be found when the two million euro ($2.26 million) project began in April 2024.
Now they are racing to finish before Aug. 29, when the theater is scheduled to reopen with a gala presentation of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.”
Tim Rekelhoff, a historic building researcher hired by the State Monument Office of South Tyrol to work on the project, said the theater was one of the few remaining Art Nouveau-decorated houses in Europe: “The abundance of details is so overwhelming that it is impossible to take them in all at once.”
Vibrant Colors
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