It was probably built at the end of the 11th century, in Romanesque style, and renovated several times. It was rebuilt from 1676 in Baroque style - except for the apse, which is still Romanesque. In 2000, crypt excavations led to several findings, such as capitals, columns and frescoes from the original Romanesque building and shards dating back to the previous period. Inside, it preserves some 16th-century paintings, such as the altarpiece portraying the “Vergine col Bambino tra S. Giorgio e S. Girolamo” (Giuliesca School) modeled after a sketch by Giulio Romano kept in the Louvre Museum.
It was founded in 1967, after the first edition of the Prize conceived by Cesare Zavattini - a famous writer, screenwriter and journalist from Luzzara - and located in the former Augustinian Convent (Church of the SS. Annunziata, in “località Villa Superiore”).
From documents dating back to 1813, it seems that the “Società Teatrale di Luzzara” (Luzzara Theatre Company) bought a rural building - used as a granary - to transform it into the current theatre. Even though the adaptation works began immediately, the theatre was only open to the public on October 2, 1852, with the staging of the opera “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” by Vincenzo Bellini.
