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The President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, signed this April 4th Law Number 9521 which declares the National Theater (Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica) a National Symbol of Historic Architectural Heritage and Cultural Liberty.
“Costa Rica pays tribute to its National Theater and recognizes it as a national symbol. In this way we seal the beautiful relation that links our emblematic architectural jewel with essential stages in the construction of our Nation. Since its construction and inauguration in October 1897, the National Theater has become the pride of a population that recognizes, promotes and encourages art, culture and education as fundamental values. The beautiful National Theater and its rich history are a reason to be proud and praises our Nation“, commented Solis.
Through the signing of Law 9521, the Ministry of Public Education must include the National Theater among the topics of study both in elementary and high school curriculum.
The theater, which celebrated 120 years last October, is filled with impressive paintings, one of the most important ones being Alegoría del comercio y la agricultura de Costa Rica (Allegory of commerce and agriculture of Costa Rica) by Italian artist Aleardo Villa and which appears in the old 5 colones bill, and Alegoría de las Artes (The Arts Allegory) by Roberto Fontana and valued in over US$1 million; 17 sculptures such as Triunfo de la música (The Triumph of Music), popularly known as “La Fama”; lamps, furniture, theater stage curtains, original beautiful decorations, and in total 600 works of art of great historic value. Statues of the 17th century Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca and famous German composter Ludwig van Beethoven are featured in the theater’s façade. It is also, one of the few theaters in the world that has a system that lifts the floor of the main room througha mechanic system that was designed by renown Italian engineer Cesare Saldini (1848-1922).
To celebrate the signing of this Law, the National Theater, which was also recognized as a National Monument in 1965, will organize tours for the population on May 12 and May 13. Details on the tours will be disclosed in the next few days.
