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The Sena
Theater |
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The Sena Theater
(the name derives
from the word
“scene”), is
contained within the
Palazzo della
Ragione, the construction of which began in 1510 after the destruction of the previous building by the troops of Emperor Maximilian. |
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The building
includes a Palladian
loggia of 1558. The
hall, which was
originally used for
meetings of the Maggior Consiglio
(the Great Council),
became a theater in
1684 when the Teatro
Sociale was set up. |
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It contained two
galleries of boxes,
privately owned by
the noble families
of the town.
Earlier, in 1621, it
had held a “…scene
for the acting of
Carnival comedies”.
In the early 18th
century the theater
was in constant use,
and in 1729 two
plays by Carlo
Goldoni, “Il Buon
Padre” and “La
Cantatrice”, were
produced. In 1741 a
third gallery of
boxes was added. On
26th July 1769, the
theater was struck
by lightning during
a performance
causing the death of
five people, dozens
of wounded and
structural damage. |
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Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was a celebrated Venetian playwright and librettist, whom critics today rank among the European theatre's greatest authors. His works, along with those of the modernist Luigi Pirandello, include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty. His plays offered his contemporaries images of themselves, often dramatizing the lives, values, and conflicts of the emerging middle classes. |
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In the following
years the theater
was used only
sporadically. In
1802, the Venetian
architect Gianantonio Selva,
who had recently won
the competition to
design the Fenice
Theater in Venice,
undertook the
complete renovation
of the theater. The
interior decoration,
notably the curtain
and the ceiling, was
executed in 1843 by
Tranquillo Orsi,
who, in 1837, had
produced the
neoclassical
decoration of the
Fenice. |
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Tranquillo
Orsi -
Designs |
View of
Sena
Theater
from
main
Piazza
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The theater was
closed in 1929
because it did not
meet modern safety
standards. After a
campaign by Italia
Nostra, restoration
work was begun in
1971, and continued
sporadically until
the 1990s. Work is
now almost complete
thanks to an
agreement signed in
2000 between the
town of Feltre and
the authorities for
Historic Buildings
and Landscape of the
Provinces of Venice,
Padova, Belluno, and
Treviso. |
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Today, the Sena Theater offers
us an opportunity to
revisit the world of
the Fenice Theater
before the
disastrous fire of
1996. For Private
Tours, please visit
www.fenicefeltre.it
the site is in
Italian, but feel
free to call, they
speak very good
English. |
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Region |
Veneto |
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Province |
Belluno. |
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Elevation |
325 m |
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Population |
20,560 |
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Demonym |
Feltrini |
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Time |
CET(UTC+1) |
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Postal |
32032 |
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Dialing |
0439 |
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Patron |
St.
Victor |
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