Description of the attraction
Teatro Goldoni, formerly known as Teatro San Luca and Teatro Vendramin di San Salvatore, is one of the main theaters in Venice. It is located by the Rialto Bridge in the historic center of the city.
All the major theaters in Venice were once owned by influential aristocratic families, who thus combined income-generating business with pleasure. At a time when theaters were still run by royal courts throughout Europe, it became fashionable to invest in the performing arts in Venice, already experiencing a decline in trade. It was the 17th century, and it was in Venice in 1637 that the continent's first commercial theater was built. The Grimani family, who often tied the knot with the Vendramin family, owned the Teatro Malibran, later known as the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, and the Teatro San Benedetto. Venier owned the La Fenice Theater, which to this day remains the leading theater in Venice. The Vendramin family owned the San Luca Theater, founded in 1622 in the San Salvatore quarter. From 1875, it became known as the Goldoni Theater. The theater building was rebuilt in the 1720s and has survived to this day. In the years when Carlo Goldoni, the greatest playwright of Venice, was working, plays were still staged only on the stages of San Luca and Malibran. It was during this period that Goldoni wrote his most famous comedies. True, the Vendramin family was in a difficult relationship with the playwright, and in the end, in 1761, he was forced to leave for Paris.
Over its long history, the Goldoni Theater has undergone a number of changes and was rebuilt several times. The most significant were the renovations in 1818 under the direction of the architect Giuseppe Borsato and the new interior decoration in 1833. In 1826, it was here that gas lighting was installed for the first time in Italy. By design, the Teatro Goldoni is a classic 18th century Italian theater with an auditorium with four rows of galleries and balconies and a total capacity of up to 800 people. The stage is 12 meters wide and 11 meters deep.
