When people speak about tosse (cough) in Genoa, they aren’t talking about having a cold: they are indicating one of the most active drama centers in the city. The Teatro della Tosse (cough theater) was founded in 1701 as Teatro di Sant'Agostino, commissioned by the theologian Nicolò Maria Pallavicino. It was the drama company founded by Tonino Conte, Emanuele Luzzati, Pepi Morgia, Aldo Trionfo, Pietro Boragina, Rita Cirio, and Giannino Galloni that gave it its curious modern name. Together, they started to work on and produce a first series of plays inside a structure along a road called, indeed, Salita della Tosse (hill of the cough). Today the Teatro della Tosse is a beautiful structure with galleries, stalls, and all the characteristics of classical theaters. Back in the day, as you walked in you could smell the scent of experimental drama, in a space called agora where avant-gardist works by young actors were represented.
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