Must-see entertainment in Italy

  • Exterior of Teatro San Carlo.

    Teatro San Carlo

    Naples

    San Carlo's opera season runs from November or December to June, with occasional summer performances. Sample prices: a place in the 6th tier (from €35),…

  • Jazz Club Ferrara

    Ferrara

    There are few places in the solar system more cinematic than this extraordinary and intimate house of swing and syncopation occupying a restored…

  • Former Manifattura Tabacchi now Cineteca Bologna in Bologna

    Manifattura Tabacchi

    Florence

    An exciting work in progress, this ex-industrial plant near Parco delle Cascine hosts some of the city's edgiest contemporary art events and happenings…

  • James Bay audience at ROMA SUMMER FEST 23, Auditorium Parco della Musica "Ennio Morricone" in Rome

    Auditorium Parco della Musica

    Rome

    The hub of Rome's thriving cultural scene and home to Rome's world-class Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (www.santacecilia.it), the…

  • Fortezza Vecchia

    Livorno

    Close to the waterfront, the 'Old Fort' was constructed to a design by Antonio de Sangallo the Elder in the 16th century, but incorporates an 11th-century…

  • Teatro Massimo Bellini

    Catania

    Catania's premier theatre is named after the city's most famous son, composer Vincenzo Bellini. It's one of Italy's most glorious old theatres, staging…

  • Teatro Franco Parenti

    Milan

    Having made a name for itself with a program boasting some of the finest names in Italian cinema and theatre, Franco Parenti cemented its role as a…

  • Teatro Massimo

    Palermo

    Ernesto Basile's six-tiered art-nouveau masterpiece is Europe's second-largest opera house and one of Italy's most prestigious, right up there with La…

  • Stazione Rogers

    Trieste

    This quirky 1953 petrol station, designed by Ernesto Rogers (Richard Rogers' cousin) and the BBPR firm, was saved from dereliction in 2008 and turned into…

  • Area 8

    Matera

    This unusual cafe/bar and 'nano-theatre' is a production agency by day, but comes alive four nights a week to host film screenings, live music, product…

  • Merchandise stall at football match at Stadio San Paolo.

    Stadio San Paolo

    Bay of Naples

    Naples' football team, Napoli, is the fourth most supported in Italy after Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and watching it play in the country's third…

  • Teatro La Fenice

    Venice

    One of Italy's top opera houses, La Fenice stages a rich roster of opera, ballet and classical music. The main opera season runs from January to July and…

  • Roman Arena

    Verona

    This is where Placido Domingo made his debut, and the annual opera season from late-June to late-August still draws the world's top names.

  • Outside the Piccolo Teatro Strehler

    Piccolo Teatro Strehler

    Milan

    This trailblazing theatre with seating for 960 people was designed by Marco Zanuso in 1998 to address the size constraints of the original Piccolo Teatro…

  • Sign of Auditorium di Milano (opera, classical music).

    Auditorium di Milano

    Milan

    Abandoned after WWII, the Cinema Massimo was transformed in 1999 into the state-of-the-art home of Milan's legendary Giuseppe Verde Symphonic Orchestra…

  • Associazione Scarlatti

    Naples

    Naples' premier classical-music association organises chamber-music concerts in venues that include the Museo Diocesano di Napoli. Local talent mixes it…

  • Teatro Regio Torino

    Turin

    Sold-out performances can sometimes be watched free on live TV in the adjoining Teatro Piccolo Regio, where Puccini premiered La Bohème in 1896, and it's…

  • Teatro Donizetti

    Bergamo

    Named after the famed composer who was born in Bergamo, this is one of Lombardy's grand opera houses and dates back to the 18th century. The dazzling,…

  • Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

    Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo

    Rome's premier opera house, aka Teatro Costanzi, boasts a dramatic red-and-gold interior, a Fascist 1920s exterior and an impressive history: it premiered…

  • Nuovo Cinema Palazzo

    Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo

    Students, artists and activists are breathing new life into San Lorenzo's former Palace Cinema with a bevy of exciting creative happenings: think film…

  • Teatro Goldoni

    Venice

    Named after the city’s great playwright, Carlo Goldoni, Venice's main theatre has an impressive dramatic range that runs from Goldoni’s comedy to…

  • Teatro Sociale

    Como

    Como’s neoclassical theatre attracts culture vultures from as far away as Switzerland and has been enlarged three times to its present 900-seat capacity…

  • Riot Studio

    Naples

    Need to escape the chaos of Spaccanapoli? Dive through the grand doorway of Palazzo Marigliano, up the winged staircase and into one of Naples’ most loved…

  • Teatro Ditirammu

    Palermo

    Tucked away in a crumbling baroque courtyard, this intimate, family-run theatre hosts wonderful concerts of world and folk music, as well as theatrical…

  • Teatro Mancinelli

    Orvieto

    This theatre plays host to Umbria Jazz concerts in winter and a programme of everything from ballet and opera to folk music, prose readings and Genesis…

  • Fortezza da Basso

    Florence

    This vast defensive 16th-century fort is an atmospheric venue for concerts and performing arts, trade fairs, exhibitions and conferences today. Open-air…

  • Tetris

    Trieste

    One of Trieste's iconic alternative cooperative venues, Tetris has an impressive line-up of international and local live acts and DJs, with electronica…

  • Teatro Fraschini

    Pavia

    Pavia's beautiful baroque theatre was conceived by one of the greatest stage designers of the 18th century, Antonio Galli Bibiena. It's bell-shaped…

  • Caffè Letterario

    Southern Rome

    Caffè Letterario is an intellectual hang-out housed in the funky, somewhat underground, post-industrial space of a former garage. It combines designer…

  • Terme di Caracalla

    San Giovanni & Testaccio

    The hulking ruins of this vast 3rd-century baths complex set the memorable stage for the Teatro dell'Opera's summer performance season.

  • Teatro dei Pupi

    Syracuse

    Syracuse's beloved puppet theatre hosts regular evening performances; see its website for a calendar.

  • Soccer fans waving scarves at AS Roma versus Ajax Amsterdam match at Champions League Game Stadio Olimpico.

    Stadio Olimpico

    Rome

    A trip to Rome’s impressive Stadio Olimpico offers an unforgettable insight into Rome’s sporting heart. Throughout the football season (late August to May…

  • The gated entrance designed by Tadao Ando to the Teatrino Palazzo Grassi

    Teatrino di Palazzo Grassi

    Venice

    A separate entity to Palazzo Grassi, Teatrino Palazzo Grassi has a 225-seat auditorium that hosts a wide range of cultural events, from live concerts to…

  • Anteo Palazzo del Cinema entrance

    Anteo Palazzo del Cinema

    Milan

    This refurbished 'palace' cinema complex has an impressive technical spec with 2K and 4K projectors and an Atmos sound system throughout. In addition to…

  • Entrance to the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi.

    Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi

    Milan

    Housed in a former Lateran convent, Milan’s most prestigious musical conservatory and high school has nurtured some of the country’s best conductors and…

  • Jazz club Alexanderplatz, Via Ostia 9.

    Alexanderplatz

    Vatican City, Borgo & Prati

    Intimate, underground and hard to find – look for the discreet black door near the corner – Rome's most celebrated jazz club draws top Italian and…

  • Detail of Teatro Malibran.

    Teatro Malibran

    Venice

    This pretty 17th-century theatre was built over the ruins of Marco Polo's palazzo (mansion). It now shares a classical music, opera and ballet program…

  • Parma, Italy - April 10, 2023: panoramic view of the historic Teatro Regio, formerly known as New Ducal Theatre, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
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    Teatro Regio

    Parma

    Offers a particularly rich program of music and opera, even by exacting Italian standards.

  • Cantina Bentivoglio

    Bologna

    Bologna's top jazz joint, the Bentivoglio is a jack of all trades: part wine bar (over 600 labels), part restaurant (eat elsewhere) and part jazz club …

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