Teatro La Fenice

For opening and première nights, formal attire is recommended.

For other shows, smart casual works perfectly.

Just a heads-up: shorts, sleeveless tops, and overly casual clothing aren’t allowed, and tickets can’t be refunded in those cases.

Tucked away in the audioguide is the royal box’s incredible story — a place of honor with a tormented past, intertwined not only with the opera house’s own history but also with the political and historic events of Venice itself.

This large and luxurious box was not part of La Fenice’s original design, which featured only boxes of equal size. Soon after the theatre’s completion, Venice lost its independence to Napoleon’s French Empire, and the emperor ordered the demolition of three central boxes on both the second and third tiers (six in total) to create an imperial box for himself.

Almost 50 years later, after an insurrection and the short-lived Republic of Venice’s declaration of independence from Austria, the loggia was dismantled and the original tiers of boxes were reinstated in what became known as the 'Republican' house.

But the independence was brief: the Imperial Austrian Royal Government returned the following year and ordered the loggia rebuilt, this time to an even richer design.

In 1866, when Veneto joined the Kingdom of Italy, the imperial loggia became the royal box. The symbol of the Italian royal family can still be seen inside, reproduced on the side walls.