The Teatro Sá de Miranda was inaugurated on April 29, 1885. Its construction was the result of the efforts of a group of Viana personalities who formed the Companhia Fomentadora Vianense in 1879 with the aim of building a civilizing building.

It is an Italian-style theatre designed by José Geraldo da Silva Sardinha with a horseshoe-shaped audience and three tiers of boxes, with a capacity for 400 seats.

The Pano de Boca was designed by Luigi Manini and painted by Hercole Labertini, set designers for the Teatro S. Carlos, and the ceiling, a trompe l’oeil image of the sky with portraits of playwrights, was painted by João Baptista do Rio.

The City Council acquired the building in 1985, at a time when its deterioration was increasing. Since then, it has promoted improvement works, first, in 1993, providing security and comfort to the public and, in a second phase, in 2019, equipping the stage with the most modern stage equipment, which allows staging the most demanding shows.

On September 9, 2021, the Sá de Miranda Municipal Theater was integrated into the Portuguese Theater and Movie Theater Network (RTCP) by order of the Minister of Culture. “This network is a fundamental strategic instrument to combat regional asymmetries and to promote territorial cohesion in access to culture and the arts in Portugal, based on decentralization and shared responsibility between the central State and municipalities and independent entities.”

Today, the Teatro Municipal Sá de Miranda, a true ex-libris of Viennese and Alto-Minho culture, hosts numerous cultural activities, being the headquarters of a resident theater company. Dance, opera, classical and contemporary music, theater, workshops and conferences are some of the actions that have allowed the Teatro Municipal to become one of the main cultural spaces in the city and the region.