5 Best Theatres in Florence

Tuscany Hall (Teatro Tuscany Hall) opened in 1978 on a historic site, and today this structure is an iconic landmark of the Florence music scene hosting tons of famous artists. Among the musicians and singers who have performed here over the years are Patti Smith, Joan Baez, Nick Cave, Moby, Simple Minds, Muse, Cesare Cremonini, Sigur Rós, Luciano Ligabue, Robert Plant and many others. In addition to hosting popular musical acts, the venue serves as a multipurpose arena for fairs, conferences, competitions and many other events. It seats up to 2,300 attendees.

Teatro Tuscany Hall features modern acoustics and electronics, and almost every seat is a good one. It’s located about 20 minutes east of the Florence city centre.

Opera di Firenze (Teatro Comunale Florence, Teatro del Maggio) is among Florence’s newest theatres, famous for its annual musical and dance festivals and its award-winning design. Every year, this venue is the home of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, an annual music and dance festival founded in 1933 and featuring a calendar of traditional 'Maggio' songs celebrating the coming of spring. The venue boasts 3 meeting rooms, an opera house that seats 1,800 people, an outdoor auditorium that seats 2,000 and an indoor auditorium that can seat between 500 and 1,000 spectators.

It’s also one of the only opera houses in Florence that showcases classical opera. It’s 15 minutes west of the city centre.

Verdi Theatre (Teatro Verdi) is a historic venue offering contemporary music and shows in classical and elegant surroundings, having survived in various forms for over 200 years. It was constructed in the 1800s at a time when Florence was the capital of Italy. It was originally called the Teatro delle Antiche Stinche. The name was in honour of the former 14th-century prison that once occupied the same site. Even today, several of the old jail cells are present on the underground levels. It wasn’t until 1901 that it became the Teatro Verdi.

Today it is the seat for the Tuscan Regional Orchestra and offers lively and diverse productions that offer something for everyone. It’s in the city centre.

Teatro Della Pergola is the place to go if you want to see the cutting edge in avant-garde theatrical performances, and it pioneered the idea of private boxes. Legend has it that private boxes were first installed here not to provide better views, but to avoid potential violence from feuds between nobles in the theatre. The theatre was declared a national monument in 1925, but it wasn’t until 1942 that it became the experimental and avant-garde haven that it is today.

Teatro Della Pergola was designed by famed architect Ferdinando Tacca, whose father designed the iconic Santissima Annunziata fountain. It’s located in the heart of the city centre.

Teatro Puccini offers a programme of fun and exciting yet traditional and family-oriented Italian shows in a historic theatre venue dating to 1940. The theatre’s original name was Teatro del Dopolavoro dei Monopoli di Stato, a state-run theatre during World War II. Following the war, it served as everything from a dance hall to a boxing ring, until the 1990s when it began to feature shows by some of the most popular Italian playwrights and artists. While this can be a great place to soak up real Italian culture, the performances are entirely in Italian.

Those looking for a family-friendly evening of true Italian artistry will find it here. It’s about 15 minutes northwest of the city centre.