Petruzzelli Theater is considered as the largest theater in Bari and the fourth-largest one in Italy. It appeared owing to two people born in Trieste, the merchants and builders of ships, brothers Petruzzelli. From the Italian commune of Corato, they brought permission to build the largest theater in the region.

One more relative of Petruzzelli worked on the project of the theater building. It was their half-brother, engineer Angelo Bari Chichchomessere. The construction of the theater took just 5 years.

The inner decoration of the theater was made by the artist Raffaele Armenise. The first play on the stage of the new theater was the opera “Huguenots”, created by famous Meyerbeer.

In the 1980s, two grand premieres took place in the Petruzzelli theater: “Iphigenia in Taurida” by Piccini and “Puritans” by Bellini, which made the theater and the city famous. So, the performance of Piccini was shown outside the Paris Opera House for the first time. And the play "Puritans" was written just for the notable singer Maria Malibran, but she did not perform it.

In 1991, the Petruzzelli Theater was set in the terrible fire, and as a result, the building was completely destroyed. The last performance in that theater building was a lyrical tragedy “Norma” made by Bellini.

Until 2009, the theater was under reconstruction. Almost 18 years later, it met the first opera amateurs. On the day of the grand opening, on the stage of the Petruzzelli Theater was performed the Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. And after the fire, the first opera season was started with Puccini's famous opera “Turandot”.

However, the theater stage was using not just for the opera plays but as the place for the various grand concerts. The theater had such famous people, as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Lisa Minnelli, and Luciano Pavarotti.

In addition, the theater was used as a set for the popular music program of the 1980s “Azurro”.