Teatro Sociale (Social Theatre)

The construction of Teatro Sociale (social theatre) began in 1817, a Neo-gothic style building designed by Sante Baseggio from Rovigo, but it was partially destroyed by a fire in 1902 and rebuilt in 1904 by the engineer Daniele Donghi from Milan.

This Italian-style theatre, with paintings by Giovanni Vianello from Padua, was among the first in Veneto to adopt the standard of Liberty style.

It opened to the public for the first time on 3 rd March 1819, with the theatrical representation L'ombra di Fetonte, (the shade of Phaeton) but the official opening was on 26 th April, with the play L'Adelaide di Borgogna composed by Pietro Generali. Great names of international opera have debuted here, including Beniamio Gigli and Renata Tebaldi. 

Since 1967 it has been the only traditional theatre in Polesine and for over 200 years it has hosted lyric and prose, dance, Teatro Ragazzi (youth theatre), jazz and classical concerts seasons.