DESIGNER MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI AND HER DAUGHTER, RACHELE REGINI, BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO ROME'S LEGENDARY TEATRO DELLA COMETA.

The lights go down, the red velvet curtains open and the show begins.

- TEXT: ALESSANDRA PELLEGRINO PHOTOS: SIMON WATSON

Theatre lovers know that these seats are designed to transport them far from their daily lives. The intense scent of Siberian larch on the stage is an evocative marvel in itself here at the Teatro della Cometa in Rome.

The theatre is not just a building, but a promise of beauty that designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, who is currently the chief creative officer at Fendi and has served as Dior's creative director for nine years, and her daughter, Rachele Regini, have brought back to life. The restoration—entrusted to architect Fabio Tudisco and designer Andrea Panzini—took five years to complete and pays homage to the vision of the theatre's original founder, Countess Anna Laetitia (Mimi) Pecci-Blunt, and architect Tomaso Buzzi.