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64-565: All the main Venetian theatres were owned by important patrician families; combining business with pleasure in the Italian city with the most crowded and competitive theatrical culture. When most opera in Europe was still being put on by courts, "economic prospects and a desire for exhibitionistic display", as well a decline in their traditional overseas trading, attracted the best Venetian families to invest in

128-597: A township or municipality . It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ( regioni ) and provinces ( province ). The comune can also have the title of città ( lit.   ' city ' ). Formed praeter legem according to the principles consolidated in medieval municipalities , the comune is provided for by article 114 of the Constitution of Italy . It can be divided into frazioni , which in turn may have limited power due to special elective assemblies. In

192-496: A building usually called the municipio , or palazzo comunale ( lit.   ' town hall ' ). As of January 2021, there were 7,904 comuni in Italy; they vary considerably in size and population. For example, the comune of Rome , in Lazio , has an area of 1,287.36 km (497.05 sq mi) and a population of 2,758,454 inhabitants, and is both the largest and

256-763: A comune as rione ( Italian: [riˈoːne] ; pl. : rioni ) or contrade . The term originated from the administrative divisions of Rome, and is derived from the Latin word regio ( pl. : regiones ), meaning "region". All currently extant rioni are located in Municipio I of Rome. The term has been adopted as a synonym of quartiere in the Italian comuni . Terzieri , quartieri , sestieri , rioni , and their analogues are usually no longer administrative divisions of these towns, but historical and traditional communities, seen especially in towns' annual Palio . A terziere ( pl. : terzieri )

320-467: A concept destined for global diffusion, but which occurs here as public opera for the first time. Indeed, the Teatro San Cassiano can, therefore, be seen as the economic-architectonic prototype of the Italian opera house destined to enjoy enormous fortune over the following centuries. Given the total absence of images relating to this phase of Teatro San Cassiano's history, a document stipulated by

384-527: A passage referring to the years preceding 1593—and in reference seemingly to either the Tron theatre or the Michiel theatre—the author writes that the nobles “had rented almost all the boxes”. With regard to the date of construction of the Tron theatre, and the presence therein of boxes (an innovative feature from both an architectural-theatrical and commercial point of view), it is noted that somewhat opportunely in 1580

448-629: A private spectacle, reserved for the aristocracy and the courts. The Teatro San Cassiano was, therefore, the first public theatre to stage opera and in so doing opened opera for wider public consumption. In 2019 a project, conceived by the English entrepreneur and musicologist Paul Atkin, was announced to reconstruct in Venice the Teatro San Cassiano of 1637 as faithfully as academic research and traditional craftmanship will allow, complete with period stage machinery and moving stage sets. The project aims to establish

512-458: A radical change occurred in the language of the Council of Ten relating to these theatrical venues, as for the first time a formula had been attested which implies concerns relating to their structural solidity in that they had to be “strong and safe so that no collapse can happen”. Therefore, it would appear that the innovation given by the introduction of boxes as an integral part of the structure of

576-526: A separate ruler, through the arbitration of Venice, which were known as sestieri . The island of Crete , a Venetian colony (the Kingdom of Candia ) from the Fourth Crusade , was also divided into six parts, named after the sestieri of Venice herself, while the capital Candia retained the status of a comune of Venice. The island of Burano north of Venice is also subdivided into sestieri . A variation of

640-470: A significant role in the development of the opera buffa . The Vendramins, who had considerable direct involvement in the management of the theatre, had a sometimes uneasy relationship with him, arguing over money and the style of his plays, until he left for Paris in 1761, as a result of a dispute with his rival, Carlo Gozzi . However the Vendramin did not take their involvement as far as Vincenzo Grimani , who

704-599: A synonymous of neighbourhood, and an Italian town can be now subdivided into a larger number of quartieri . The Swiss town of Lugano (in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino) is also subdivided into quarters. The English word quarter to mean an urban neighbourhood (e.g. the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana) is derived from the cognate old French word quartier . A sestiere ( pl. : sestieri )

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768-547: A theatrical building gave rise within the Council of Ten to safety concerns. This would explain why the Council ordered that experts had to verify solidity in advance to eliminate collapses and consequent accidents or worse. The Tron theatre (together with the one owned by the Michiel family, located near the Grand Canal) was subsequently closed in 1585 by order of the Council of Ten and emptied of any wooden element that had to do with

832-488: A total capacity of 800 seats. The stage is 12 metres (39 feet) wide and 11 metres (36 feet) deep with an iron lattice. In 1875 during the celebrations of the birth of the playwright the theatre was renamed the Teatro Goldoni at the instigation of Angelo Moro Lin] with the backing Regina De Marchi widow of the Vendramin family. The theatre remained in the hands of the descendants of the Vendramin until 1957. The archives of

896-470: Is a list of the largest comuni in Italy, in descending order of surface area, according to ISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011. The provincial capitals are highlighted in bold. The following is a list of the smallest comuni in Italy, in ascending order of surface area, according to ISTAT data referring to 9 October 2011. The following is a list of the first comuni by altitude, in descending order. The indicated altitude coincides with

960-454: Is a subdivision of certain Italian towns and cities. The word is from sesto ( lit.   ' sixth ' ), so it is thus used only for towns divided into six districts. The best-known example is the sestieri of Venice , but Ascoli Piceno , Genoa , Milan and Rapallo , for example, were also divided into sestieri . The medieval Lordship of Negroponte , on the island of Euboea , was also at times divided into six districts, each with

1024-592: Is a subdivision of several towns in Italy . The word derives from terzo ( lit.   ' third ' ) and is thus used only for towns divided into three neighborhoods. Terzieri are most commonly found in Umbria , for example in Trevi , Spello , Narni and Città della Pieve ; towns divided into terzieri in other regions include Lucca in Tuscany , and Ancona and Macerata in

1088-641: Is best known comes from the parish in which it was located, San Cassiano (Saint Cassian), in the Santa Croce district (‘ sestiere ’) not far from the Rialto . The theatre was owned by the Venetian Tron family and was the first ‘public’ opera house in the sense that it was the first to open to a paying audience. Until then, public theatres (i.e., those operating on a commercial basis) had staged only recited theatrical performances ( commedie ) while opera had remained

1152-700: Is granted to comuni that have been awarded it by decree of the King of Italy (until 1946) or of the provisional head of state (from 1946 to 1948) or, subsequently, of the President of the Republic (after 1948), on the proposal of the Ministry of the Interior , to which the comune concerned sends an application for a concession, by virtue of their historical, artistic, civic or demographic importance. The comuni endowed with

1216-493: Is known, to date, of the Teatro San Cassiano of 1637. As for the artistic life of the theatre, after the performance of La maga fulminata (1638), again by Francesco Manelli and Benedetto Ferrari , from 1639 onwards Francesco Cavalli became the theatre's and Venice's chief protagonist. Cavalli has become one of the most studied and significant opera composers of the seventeenth century because “Cavalli’s operas [...] are not only relevant qualitatively, but they also remain among

1280-431: Is well known is that the Teatro San Cassiano was inaugurated in 1637 with the performance of L’Andromeda by Francesco Manelli (music) and Benedetto Ferrari (libretto). The dedication, dated 6 May 1637, specifies that the opera “had been reborn on stage two months ago”. The historical significance of this event is incalculable, as is the commercial practice established of purchasing of an entrance ticket by each spectator;

1344-411: The frazioni , but the comune still retains the name of the capoluogo . In some cases, a comune might not have the same name of capoluogo . In these cases, it is a comune sparso ( lit.   ' dispersed comune ' ) and the frazione which hosts the town hall ( municipio ) is a sede municipale (compare county seat ). Some towns refer to neighborhoods within

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1408-480: The Marches . The medieval Lordship of Negroponte , on the island of Euboea , was also divided into three distinct rulerships, which were known as terzieri . A quartiere ( Italian: [kwarˈtjɛːre] ; pl. : quartieri ) is a territorial subdivision, properly used, for towns divided into four neighborhoods ( quarto ; lit.   ' fourth ' ) by the two main roads. It has been later used as

1472-572: The province of Isernia has 81,415 inhabitants in 52  comuni , or 1,640 inhabitants per comune – roughly 24 times more communal units per inhabitant. The coats of arms of the comuni are assigned by decree of the Prime Minister of Italy by the Office of State Ceremonial and Honors, Honors and Heraldry Service (division of the Presidency of the Council born from the transformation of

1536-671: The 1720s and renamed the Teatro Apollo. This building survives today. In the age of Carlo Goldoni , the greatest Venetian dramatist, only the San Luca and the Malibran still put on spoken drama, and his desertion of the Grimani for the Vendramins at San Luca in 1752 was a major event in the theatrical history of the period, ushering in perhaps his finest period, in which as well as his comedies, he played

1600-623: The French decided to close it definitively. The entire building was demolished in 1812 to make room for houses [...]. Today, the area of the Teatro San Cassiano has become the Albrizzi garden”. The ongoing project to reconstruct the Teatro San Cassiano of 1637 in Venice has been conceived, directed and financed by Paul Atkin, founder and CEO of the Teatro San Cassiano Group Ltd. The project was first devised by Atkin in 1999, but research into

1664-542: The Notary Alessandro Pariglia, dated 12 February 1657 more veneto , offers significant insight with regard to the internal structure of the auditorium. In it, the Notary records that before this date there were a total of 153 boxes in the theatre, but that now there remained 102; no reason is given and whether he is referring to the number of boxes in use or their number in total is not clear. The same number of 153

1728-490: The Royal Consulta Araldica , eliminated pursuant to the provisions final of the Constitution of Italy ). Administrative subdivisions within comuni vary according to their population size. Comuni with at least 250,000 residents are divided into circoscrizioni (roughly equivalent to French arrondissements or London boroughs ) to which the comune delegates administrative functions like

1792-512: The Teatro San Cassiano. This was followed by Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne (1640), La Didone (1641), La virtù de' strali d'Amore (1642), L'Egisto (1643), L'Ormindo (1644), La Doriclea (1645), Il Titone (1645), Giasone (1649), L'Orimonte (1650), Antioco (1658), and Elena (1659). Other significant composers, active at the Teatro San Cassiano in the seventeenth century, include Pietro Andrea Ziani, Marc’Antonio Ziani, Antonio Gianettini and Tomaso Albinoni. Indeed, it

1856-601: The Teatro Stabile del Veneto "Carlo Goldoni", as well as children's theater, opera, concerts, ballets and other events. 45°26′11″N 12°20′7″E  /  45.43639°N 12.33528°E  / 45.43639; 12.33528 Teatro Tron The Teatro San Cassiano (or Teatro di San Cassiano and other variants) was the world's first public opera house , inaugurated as such in 1637 in Venice . The first mention of its construction dates back to 1581. The name with which it

1920-537: The Teatro Vendramin', now held in the museum that was Goldoni's house, are increasingly being used by historians. The theatre was closed after the Second World War because it was unsafe, and dispossessed in 1957. After a lengthy restoration and renovation to improve capacity and services it reopened in 1979. The first performance was La Locandiera by Goldoni. The theatre is home to a prose season organized by

1984-505: The Tron brothers (Ettore and Francesco, of the ‘branch’ of the San Benetto family) appear to have communicated to the authorities their intention to open a “Theatre for music”, thus clarifying from the outset its function as an opera house. This, in itself, marks a critical turning point in the history of opera: a theatre built specifically to stage music. This is revealed in a document dated 2 May 1636, reportedly uncovered by Remo Giazotto in

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2048-444: The architect specifies “total boxes: number 31 per tier”, exactly as cited by Chassebras. This total of 153 boxes therefore runs through the history of the theatre from at least the 1650s to the mid-eighteenth century. Given that the first extant testimony dates back to February 1657 more veneto (i.e., February 1658), and in noting that there were no known remakes or renovations between its inauguration in 1637 and 1658, and that further

2112-489: The autonomous region of the Aosta Valley , a comune is officially called a commune in French. The comune provides essential public services: registry of births and deaths, registry of deeds , and maintenance of local roads and public works. Many comuni have a Polizia Comunale ( lit.   ' Communal Police ' ), which is responsible for public order duties. The comune also deal with

2176-727: The boxes of the fifth tier those crimes that the Government, in tolerating them, wants at least not to be exposed to the sight of others”, a description that has led to suppose an early state of degradation and decay. The last known season was that of 1798, during which two operas were performed: La sposa di stravagante temperamento (as we read in the libretto, “the music is by Mr Pietro Guglielmi, Neapolitan chapel master. The scenario will be entirely invented and directed by Mr Luigi Facchinelli, from Verona”) and Gli umori contrari (music by Sebastiano Nasolini, libretto by Giovanni Bertati). The last word should go to I teatri del Veneto : “In 1805,

2240-403: The boxes were also a little wider than that of the late-seventeenth-century Teatro San Cassiano: suffice to compare the width the proscenium boxes of the ‘old’ theatre at 104 centimetres against 139 centimetres in the ‘new’ theatre. In 1776, if Giacomo Casanova is to be taken in good faith, the Teatro San Cassiano had become a place where “women of the underworld and prostitute young men commit in

2304-514: The capital of the province of Reggio Emilia , in the Emilia-Romagna region, and Reggio di Calabria , the capital of the homonymous metropolitan city , in the Calabria region. Many other towns or villages are likewise partial homonyms (e.g. Anzola dell'Emilia and Anzola d'Ossola , or Bagnara Calabra and Bagnara di Romagna ). The title of città ( lit.   ' city ' ) in Italy

2368-416: The coalition of the elected mayor (who needs a relative majority or an absolute majority in the first or second round of voting, depending on the population) gains three fifths of the consiglio 's seats. The giunta comunale is chaired by the mayor, who appoints others members, called assessori , one of whom serves as deputy mayor ( vicesindaco ). The offices of the comune are housed in

2432-459: The definition and compliance with the piano regolatore generale ( lit.   ' general regulator plan ' ), a document that regulates the building activity within the communal area. All communal structures or schools, sports and cultural structures such as communal libraries, theaters, etc. are managed by the comuni . Comuni must have their own communal statute and have a climatic and seismic classification of their territory for

2496-506: The design of the ‘new’ Teatro San Cassiano—took measurements of “all the theatres in Venice, as well as the one in Padua”. Among these, the precise measurements relating to the ‘old’ Teatro San Cassiano appear. This theatre was characterised by reduced dimensions: the proscenium, for example, was a little wider than 8 metres, while the stage had an average depth of 6.5 metres. The boxes were extremely limited in size, at least by comparison to those of

2560-708: The feasibility of rebuilding the original theatre of 1637 in Venice began in earnest in April 2015. This led to the incorporation of the Teatro San Cassiano Group in early May 2017 (near the anniversary of the libretto of L’Andromeda , whose dedication is dated 6 May 1637) and the official launch of the project in June 2019 through an international conference, an exhibition and a concluding concert held in Venice: ‘Teatro San Cassiano: need, solution, opportunity’. The project has received

2624-427: The few about which sufficient documentation has been preserved. Indeed, it should be pointed out that with regard to the first 25 years of Venetian opera production, by comparison to the approximately one hundred surviving printed librettos, only about thirty scores, all handwritten, remain extant today, of which two thirds are Cavalli’s”. His Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo (1639) remains the first fully extant opera for

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2688-453: The formal support of the Comune of Venice. The Teatro San Cassiano Group has announced that a preferred site has been identified and that the appropriate technical-architectural studies are in process. Sestiere A comune ( Italian: [koˈmuːne] ; pl. : comuni , Italian: [koˈmuːni] ) is an administrative division of Italy , roughly equivalent to

2752-468: The late 1960s but no longer traceable since at least the mid-1970s: With reference to the information given to these Illustrious Magistrates by the Noblemen Tron of San Benetto regarding the intention of opening a Theatre for music, as practiced in some places for the delight of distinguished audiences [...] No image of the theatre of 1637 is extant today: neither of the outside nor of the inside. What

2816-436: The main difference was with regard the deeper stage, achieved by the extending the length of the theatre by demolishing two small houses which, with reference to the ‘old’ Teatro San Cassiano, stood against its end wall located a few metres from the outer curve of the boxes. In the ‘new’ Teatro San Cassiano, the average depth of the stage was slightly less than 9.5 metres, therefore approximately 3 metres more than its predecessor;

2880-463: The main opera house. The Vendramin owned the important Teatro di San Luca or Teatro Vendramin or Teatro San Salvatore, founded in 1622 in the San Salvatore, or in Venetian dialect San Salvador district , later renamed the Teatro Apollo, and since 1875 called the Teatro Goldoni, which still thrives as the city's main theatre for plays, now in a building of the 1720s. The Teatro San Luca was rebuilt in

2944-421: The most populated. Atrani in the province of Salerno ( Campania ) was the smallest comune by area, with only 0.1206 km (0.0466 sq mi), and Morterone ( Lombardy ) is the smallest by population. Many present-day comuni trace their roots along timescales spanning centuries and at times millennia. The northernmost comune is Predoi , the southernmost one Lampedusa e Linosa ,

3008-539: The nineteenth century to which we are now accustomed, and their widths ranged from about 95 centimetres to c. 120 centimetres in the ‘pergoletto di mezzo’ (central box). The recorded height of the boxes of the ‘primo ordine’ (second tier) was slightly less than 2.10 metres, while for those of the ‘terzo ordine’ (thus, the fourth tier) were just over 1.80 metres. As for the ‘new’ Teatro San Cassiano, inaugurated with La morte di Dimone (1763), music by Antonio Tozzi and libretto by Johann Joseph Felix von Kurz and Giovanni Bertati,

3072-480: The other hand, opera production continued with some consistency at least until the middle of the century, thanks in particular to the long-lasting collaboration with Tomaso Albinoni ; other noted composers who staged their operas at the Teatro San Cassiano in this era were Antonio Pollarolo, Francesco Gasparini, Carlo Francesco Pollarolo, Antonio Lotti, Gaetano Latilla, Baldassare Galuppi . As previously noted, prior to 1765, Francesco Bognolo—the architect in charge of

3136-641: The parish of San Cassiano are mentioned: according to some historians, and based on the roughly rectangular shape of the plot of land on which it stood, the Tron theatre would appear to have been the “egg-shaped” one, with the Michiel in turn being the “round” one. In the cited letter, Tron writes of “expenditure of great significance for the recitation of comedies”, but he also hints at the popularity of his venture: — Ettore Tron to duke Alfonso II d’Este, 4 gennaio 1580 more veneto , transcribed I Teatri del Veneto cit., Tomo I, p. 126 Other than suggesting that

3200-436: The plot of land on which the theatre stood, as far as is known, remained unvaried from 1637 until the 1760s (it measured c. 27 metres by 18.5 metres), it is reasonable to conclude that from the outset the theatre of 1637 had 153 boxes over five tiers (thus, a ground-floor ‘Pepiano’ tier, plus first, second, third and fourth ‘ordini’). In this regard, and to cite contemporary examples even if in remarkably different contexts, both

3264-466: The purposes of hazard mitigation and civil protection . Comuni also deal with the waste management . It is headed by a mayor ( sindaco or sindaca ) assisted by a legislative body, the consiglio comunale ( lit.   ' communal council ' ), and an executive body, the giunta comunale ( lit.   ' communal committee ' ). The mayor and members of the consiglio comunale are elected together by resident citizens:

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3328-545: The reconstructed Teatro San Cassiano as a centre for the research, exploration and staging of historically informed Baroque opera. The first information relating to a theatre on this site dates back to 1581. The Tron family theatre for commedie is referenced both in a letter sent by Ettore Tron to Duke Alfonso II d’Este , dated 4 January 1580 more veneto (i.e., 1581), and in Francesco Sansovino ’s, Venetia città nobilissima et singolare , in which two theatres in

3392-443: The running of schools, social services and waste collection; the delegated functions vary from comune to comune . These bodies are headed by an elected president and a local council. Smaller comuni usually comprise: Sometimes a frazione might be more populated than the capoluogo ; and rarely, owing to unusual circumstances (like depopulation), the town hall and its administrative functions can be moved to one of

3456-531: The temporary theatre built for the production of L’Ermiona (Padua, 1636) and the theatre in the Great Hall of the Palazzo del Podestà (Bologna, 1639) each presented a total of five tiers of boxes, albeit those of Padua are recorded as being of larger (wider) boxes or “loggias”. As such, the structure of five superimposed tiers is attested in those years beyond Venice and constitutes a type of theatre congruent with what

3520-695: The theatre during the 17th century. Europe's first dedicated public and commercial opera house was the Teatro Tron from 1637. The Grimani , with whom the Vendramin often inter-married, were dominant, owning what is now called the Teatro Malibran , then called the Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, as well as the Teatro San Benedetto and other houses. The Veniers owned La Fenice , still

3584-615: The theatre was well received, this also confirms that theatre-boxes, which would later constitute one of the key architectural elements of the théâtre à l'italienne (an Italianate opera house), were already present in this first incarnation of the venue. This too is confirmed in a letter from Venice by Paolo Mori (agent of the Duke of Mantua), dated 7 October 1581, which mentions the “boxes of those two purpose-built venues”. Additionally, in Antonio Persio's Trattato de’ Portamenti (1607), within

3648-463: The theatrical nature of the place; the Tron theatre (i.e. the Teatro San Cassiano) was then reopened probably after 1607. Archive documents refer with some continuity to the use of the Teatro San Cassiano for theatrical performances throughout the 1610s. In 1629 and 1633, two fires destroyed the theatre. No known archival documents mention the theatre in the two years 1634–1635. In 1636,

3712-429: The title of città usually carry the golden crown above their coat of arms, except with different provisions in the decree approving the coat of arms or in the presence). "The crown of the city ([...]) is formed by a golden circle opened by eight city gates (five visible) with two cordoned walls on the margins, supporting eight towers (five visible) joined by curtain walls, all in gold and black walled." The following

3776-522: The westernmost Bardonecchia and the easternmost Otranto . The comune with the longest name is San Valentino in Abruzzo Citeriore , while the comuni with the shortest name are Lu , Ro , Ne , Re and Vo' . The population density of the comuni varies widely by province and region . The province of Barletta-Andria-Trani , for example, has 381,091 inhabitants in 10 comuni , or over 39,000 inhabitants per comune ; whereas

3840-427: The word is occasionally found: the comune of Leonessa , for example, is divided into sesti or sixths. There are not many perfect homonymous comuni . There are only six cases in 12 comuni : This is mostly due to the fact the name of the province or region was appended to the name of the comune in order to avoid the confusion. Two provincial capitals share the name Reggio : Reggio nell'Emilia ,

3904-467: The ‘Pepiano’, of 29 boxes with two side-entrances to the “platea” (orchestra stalls). This number matches precisely that recorded, decades later, by the Venetian architect, Francesco Bognolo, when he carried out surveys of all Venetian theatres (plus one in Padua) prior to 7 June 1765. In his list of measurements relating to what Bognolo calls the “old Teatro San Cassiano” (dating back to 1696 or further to 1670),

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3968-469: Was Gianettini's opera L’ingresso alla gioventù di Claudio Nerone (Modena, 1692), which became the first Teatro San Cassiano co-production of the reconstruction project when it received its modern-day premiere in September 2018, in the castle theatre of Český Krumlov, conductor Ondřej Macek. There is no evidence relating to structural works having occurred during the first half of the eighteenth century. On

4032-494: Was a cardinal and opera librettist. The theatre had many changes and renovations due to fire or structural failures. Among them the most important was by architect and set designer Giuseppe Borsato in 1818, and the redecoration of the rooms by Francesco Bagnara , then art director at La Fenice in 1833. In 1826 the theatre had been the first in Italy to install gas lighting. It is a traditional 18th Century Italian theater, with an auditorium in four tiers of boxes and galleries, with

4096-546: Was later described by the French Jacques Chassebras de Cramailles in 1683, who wrote in the Mercure Galant that “the theatre of San Cassiano [...] has five tiers of boxes and 31 in each tier”. Noting the characteristics of Venetian theatres in the seventeenth century, it is therefore logical to conclude that the total of 153 boxes is made up of four tiers of 31 boxes each, plus a first “ground-floor” tier, known as

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