We will be in Venice for 3 nights in late March, then a week in Cortona. Any suggestions for a unique, not-too-pricey theatre experience in Venice, or in or around Florence? I'm looking for something that would give us a memorable taste of Italian culture, but not too esoteric for a family that doesn't speak Italian!

Check for events at this site: http://www.charta.it

Also consider attending opera at La Fenice. It won't matter if you understand the lyrics or not.

www.veniceword.com is a good place for you to browse. You'll find what's going on in Venice and then some! Should be helpful in planning a wonderful evening in Venice (where really you can't go wrong almost no matter what you do).

Well, you might want to do what I'm going to do when I'm in Venice in a few weeks (Yippee! Venice and Verona!) -which is, take in a Baroque concert at an ancient church of Venice's own homeboy, Vivaldi.

One ensemble is the "Concerti della Venezia Musica"- music with emphasis on Vivaldi's works, often held in the church where Vivaldi worked-the Chiesa della Pieta, located in the Castello district.

Another, "I Musici Veneziani-also performing Vivaldi-website www.imusiciveneziani.com (mind the typing!)


Now, some of these baroque performing groups can be a bit touristy-but that's perfectly okay with me, since baroque music performed in ancient cathedrals is definitely my kind of thing-and listening to Vivaldi puts me in a decidedly Venetian frame of mind!

For Vivaldi without period costumes, this is a good group too:
http://www.interpretiveneziani.com/