order to pay compensation of 57 billion lire in favour of the owners of the theatre. On 21 November 2002 the Ministry for Heritage and Cultural Activities signed a "Protocol of Understanding" between the family that owned the theatre and the City, the Province of Bari and the Apulia Region, stating that the theatre would be rebuilt by 22 November 2006. However, since the work of reconstruction never started, on 3 October 2006 the Theatre become the property of the Municipality of Bari in accordance with an Article related to the Finance Act of 2006. But on 30 April 2008 the Constitutional Court, in its decision No. 128/2008 ordered that the Theatre be given back to the Messeni Nemagna family. The Petruzzelli, reconstructed entirely with public money in 2008, was returned to the City of Bari on 7 September 2009 for breach of article 5 of the contract dated 29 January 1896 between the City of Bari and Antonio Onofrio and Petruzzelli. The article stated: "In the event that the building collapses because of an earthquake, fire or for any other cause, the grantee and its successors would have the right to rebuild the Politeama to its original state, provided that the work was undertaken within a year and be completed in three years from the date on which the collapse has occurred, or have a duty to clear the land and leave it free of debris and return it to the City within a year counting from the above term." The Fondazione Lirico Sinfonica Petruzzelli e Teatri di Bari was eventually identified as the only entity able to assume the management, maintenance and insurance of the Teatro Petruzzelli, based on what was written in former Article 23 of Law 800, which states that municipalities must make theatres available for opera companies after the end of concert seasons. The Teatro Petruzzelli officially reopened Sunday 4 October 2009, nearly 18 years after the fire, with a performance of the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven by the Orchestra of the Province of Bari, conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo. On 6 December 2009 the first opera season in the re-built theatre began with Turandot by Giacomo Puccini, directed by Roberto De Simone, with the orchestra conducted by Renato Palumbo. See also Teatro Margherita Teatro Piccinni References Notes External links Brief history of the theater Website relating to the book "The Theater of Deception"