It was opened on 20 September 1893, after ten years of work and finishing touches; directed by architect Achille Sfondrini.

[1] It takes its name from the Roman emperor Titus Flavius Vespasian (Italian: Tito Flavio Vespasiano) who was born in sabina[1] (more precisely in Vicus Phalacrinae, now Cittareale).

The first information about the presence of a theatre in Rieti dates to the 15th - 16th centuries, with confraternities organizing plays in main city squares.

[2] At the end of the 1500s, the need to organize plays in closed and sheltered settings lead to Teatro dell'Accademia del Tizzone, located in via Terenzio Varrone, in a former hospital.

In 1867 municipality took over the works entrusting them to the architect Achille Sfondrini,[2] who already designed Teatro Costanzi di Roma.

[4] Works completed the same year, with theatre opening on 20 September 1893[1] with a double bill of Gounod's Faust and Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana.

[4] After just five years after opening, an earthquake in Rieti damaged the theatre, making collapse the dome and part of the façade.

The anti-fascist city mayor Angelo Sacchetti Sassetti demanded the theatre be named after Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni and the hiding of both dome and curtain.

After four years of work to make the spaces compliant, on 10 January 2009 it was opened again with an inaugural concert performed by Opera studio of Accademia nazionale di Santa Cecilia and directed by Marcello Rota.

During the event, four solo artists performed: sopranos Karina Grigoryan and Jessica Pratt, mezzo-soprano Anna Goryachova, and baritone Roman Burdenko.

[7] More works, financed by regione Lazio in 2016, will allow recover of sala degli specchi[8] and places where circolo di lettura was located.

Due to its proximity to Palazzo Vincenti Mareri [it], located on the other side of the road, the theatre can be observed only from a quasi-lateral position.

[2] Inside the hall, there are busts and commemorative plaques to celebrate the most important artists that played in the theatre; among all, the baritone Mattia Battistini.

[3] Among other places, the theatre includes the Circolo di lettura, consisting of a set of finely decorated rooms designed for balls and concerts.

[6] The curtain was long forgotten until, in 2019, it has been restored by Accademia di Belle Arti dell'Aquila and was newly exhibited to the audience.

Thanks to this feature, in 2002 it won official recognition; when Uto Ughi assigned the first edition of the national award for acoustic to the theatre.

Professor Bruno Cagli president of Accademia nazionale di Santa Cecilia, defined the theatre as the best in the world from an acoustic standpoint.

Around this theater, many things that will bring the Italian tradition and Rieti prestige high in the world can be born, and I will try to carry out this task with the utmost responsibility and great joy.