Teatro Romano, Summer 2026: Verona Takes Centre Stage

With its 78th edition of the Estate Teatrale Veronese, Verona reaffirms its place as a European capital of live performance. From 25 June to 18 September, the Teatro Romano and the city’s open spaces will host an extraordinarily rich programme, under the artistic direction of Fabrizio Arcuri and the evocative title (H)Earth of Glass — a tribute to the Earth as a material that is at once solid and fragile, a root of identity and a symbol of transformation. Italy’s longest-running theatre festival reinvents itself this year with a bold international outlook and a new focus on emerging generations, while remaining firmly anchored in the great tradition of Western drama.

Shakespeare Comes Home

At the heart of the programme is the Shakespeare Festival, opening with a national premiere entrusted to British director Declan Donnellan, founder of the renowned Cheek by Jowl company: a new production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, performed in the original language with subtitles, co-produced with Spain’s Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico. The message is clear — Shakespeare is returning to his adopted city through world-class productions. Further highlights include reinterpretations by some of the most compelling names in Italian theatre: Toni Servillo and Academy Award winner Nicola Piovani in the world premiere of Padre Cicogna, Stefano Massini with Romeo and Juliet in the War alongside the Multietnica Orchestra of Arezzo, and philosopher Massimo Cacciari with his meditation on King Lear. Room is also given to younger voices through Nuove Orbite, a section dedicated to playwrights under 40 and hybrid formats blending theatre, digital art and performance.

A Whole City on Stage

The festival extends well beyond the Roman Theatre itself. International contemporary dance brings MOMIX to the arena with Botanica – Season 2, alongside Belgium’s Peeping Tom and France’s Yoann Bourgeois, in a journey through body, illusion and gravity. The Musical Contaminations strand ranges from the refined jazz of Paolo Fresu to the pop sounds of Coez, Joan Thiele and Nicolò Fabi, taking in The Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr and the Portuguese voice of Dulce Pontes.

The entire city becomes a stage through Costellazioni, a programme of site-specific and participatory events that transforms squares and parks into artistic meeting places — from Rimini Protokoll’s The Walks / Verona at Piazza Bra to the performative journeys of Chiara Frigo and Silvia Gribaudi through the city’s neighbourhoods. For those living in or visiting Verona this summer, the festival is far more than a events calendar: it is an invitation to rediscover the city through a fresh lens, where history, innovation and shared beauty converge.

Full programme and tickets at www.estateteatraleveronese.it