Open-air theatre · San Giorgio Maggiore · Venice

Teatro Verde

The Teatro Verde is an open-air theatre on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, set within the grounds of the Giorgio Cini Foundation. A green amphitheatre facing the Venetian lagoon, it serves as one of the city’s distinctive performance venues and has hosted events including ceremonies of the Premio Campiello literary prize.

At a glance

Type: Open-air theatre / amphitheatre
Period: 20th century
Style: Open-air amphitheatre in a garden setting
Location: San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Italy

Overview

The Teatro Verde occupies the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, directly across the basin from St Mark’s. It lies within the complex of the Giorgio Cini Foundation, the cultural institution that occupies the former Benedictine monastery on the island. The theatre is an open-air venue used for music, performance and ceremonies.

History

San Giorgio Maggiore was transformed into an arts centre after the Giorgio Cini Foundation took over the island’s historic buildings in the mid-20th century. The Teatro Verde was created as part of this cultural campus to provide an outdoor stage in the foundation’s grounds. It has since become an established venue in Venice’s calendar of events.

What you see

The theatre is laid out as a grassed amphitheatre with tiered seating open to the sky, framed by greenery and the surrounding gardens of the island. Its setting offers views across the lagoon toward the heart of Venice. The open-air arrangement makes it especially suited to summer performances.

Cultural significance

As one of the venues of the Cini Foundation and a setting for events such as the Premio Campiello award ceremony, the Teatro Verde is part of the cultural life that the foundation maintains on San Giorgio Maggiore. It is also counted among the alternative performance spaces used during the city’s music and Biennale programmes.

Practical information

The Teatro Verde is on San Giorgio Maggiore within the Giorgio Cini Foundation grounds. Access depends on scheduled events and foundation programming; check the official website for performances and opening arrangements.

Getting there

San Giorgio Maggiore is reached by Venice’s vaporetto water-bus service, with a stop directly serving the island a short crossing from St Mark’s Square. There is no road access; arrival is by water.

Sources & resources

Wikipedia: San Giorgio Maggiore. More cultural heritage guides at culturalheritageonline.com.

Find it on the map

Google Maps See the location on a full map → Street View Walk around the place virtually → OpenStreetMap Free community cartography →

The Green Theater on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice was designed in 1952 by Luigi Vietti and Angelo Scattolin, a modern opera characterized by an exasperated classicism, which if it takes the form of the Greek theater on one side, of the greenery theaters of the Venetian villas, on the other hand, by virtue of the stone steps and the crown of secular cypresses, it takes on a decidedly sepulchral and gigantic feature. The theater was for a long time an artistic and cultural center where there were theatrical performances of various kinds but we can remember the memorable nocturnal representations of Romeo and Juliet and Bizet&#39;s Carmen in which all its 1500 seats were sold out.



This place also has a magical and mystical character as it is accessed directly from the Giorgio Cini Foundation, which is also the current owner, and is ideally accessed through one of the three doors that give access to the convent which can be seen observing the island from the opposite bank, according to the project of the Renaissance architect Giambattista Bregno (1508), below the marble relief of San Giorgio on horseback.



The current state of abandonment with the stage that is rotting and part of the structure that is flooded during high water. A total recovery and restructuring are about to leave. The restoration project with the collaboration of the archistar Foster. It all started thanks to a love at first sight, a gesture of love for the city of Venice.



The project is already in an advanced state with a coverage that would also allow shows during the bad weather period. He expected the investment and fundraising to be successful. If everything goes in the right direction, in about a year you will be able to sit back in this magnificent fully restored theater. An enthusiasm expressed also by the Giorgio Cini Foundation itself, which is supervising the project and supervising its success.



The structure will be built with support poles similar to the trees surrounding the theater, thus confusing them with the surrounding vegetation. However, the recovery of the island does not end here. As some abandoned buildings will also be recovered which will become small apartments where artists, musicians and professors will be able to stay during their period of visit to Venice.



A revival of an extraordinary place of art and culture that will give even more prestige to an already extraordinary city like Venice.


&nbsp;

https://culturalheritageonline.com/places/verde-theatre-l2314/

#CulturalHeritage #CHO

Verde Theatre