Trastevere & Gianicolo
Owned by cult Roman film director Nanni Moretti, this small cinema with classic red-velvet seats is the place to catch the latest European art-house…
Must-see entertainment in Italy
Venice
‘Paradise Lost’ is a find for anyone craving a cold beer canalside on a hot summer’s night. Although the restaurant is also popular, the Paradiso is…
Livorno
Here at the box-lined Goldoni, the building is as theatrical as the performances it hosts. Built between 1840 and 1850, it is the only theatre in Europe…
Le Marche
Teatro Lauro Rossi is an elegant theatre built in 1774 for the musical entertainment of the nobility. Nowadays, it also allows well-dressed riff-raff to…
Catania
Monk hosts top-notch Italian and international jazz talent, with past acts including saxophonist Pietro Tonolo and world-renowned pianist Dado Moroni. It…
Turin
A street-side cocktail bar hides a basement venue that showcases some excellent international and local indie talent as well as club nights. Thursday…
Naples
One of Naples' oldest and most famous jazz clubs, this tiny swinging bolt-hole features mostly home-grown live gigs, with the occasional blues band…
Turin
This multidisciplinary collective organises one of winter's best electronic and techno club nights, as well as live concerts. Also worth checking out for…
Venice
When not busy staging environmental protests or avant-garde performance art, this counterculture social centre throws one hell of a party, with…
Milan
Despite Milan's huge international community, it's often hard to find movies showing in their original version. Not so at Cinema Mexico, where Thursday is…
Milan
This tiny, unpretentious venue down the heavily graffitied Via Gola has an outsized reputation for hosting stellar live-music performances for serious…
Florence
Contemporary dance, mime, comedy, theatre and other edgy performing arts take to the stage at this innovative theatre that never fails to disappoint…
Turin
An intriguing, and very Torinese, venue that will feed you breakfast or lunch, surprise you with an alternative cinema screening pre-aperitivo, have an…
Auditorium di Santo Stefano al Ponte
Duomo & Piazza della Signoria
Chamber music, opera and other genres of classical music take to the stage inside this small Romanesque church, built in the 11th and 12th centuries and…
Palermo
This grandiose 19th-century theatre is a popular venue for classical music, staging year-round concerts of works from composers such Beethoven, Strauss,…
Vatican City, Borgo & Prati
Fonclea is a great little pub venue, with nightly gigs by bands playing everything from jazz and soul to pop, rock and doo-wop. Get in the mood with a…
Reggio Emilia
Reggio's splendid neoclassical theatre – recognised as one of the finest in Italy – stages a full season of dance, opera and theatre. It's named after…
Cagliari
This is Cagliari’s premier venue for classical music, opera and ballet. The line-up is fairly traditional, but quality is high and concerts are well…
Alghero
A historic multipurpose venue serving up cocktails, pizza by the metre and regular live music. Concerts, staged between October and June, cater to most…
Trieste
Trieste's opera house is a little bit Scala and a little bit Fenice (thanks to a pair of duelling architects), but wears the mix well. Don't miss a chance…
Teatro dei Pupi di Mimmo Cuticchio
Palermo
This puppet theatre is a charming low-tech choice for children (and the child within), staging traditional, one-hour shows using exquisitely handcrafted…
Florence
Live jazz and blues lures a loyal crowd to this atmospheric jazz club across the river. Concerts kick off most nights at 9.45pm and under 25s get free…
Trieste
The place where musical blockbusters come to live in Trieste, the Rossetti also has a program of local plays, ballet, dance and rock concerts. There's…
Bay of Naples
The biggest of Naples' beachside clubs, head here for poolside cocktails, see-and-be-seen aperitivo sessions, live bands and dancing under the stars.
Turin
This long-established live-music venue, a 10-minute taxi ride north of the city centre, is the city's main venue for international indie acts, interesting…
Naples
Locals hit this down-to-earth, barrel-vaulted watering hole for its regular programme of live music. Acts span everything from rhythm and blues to rock,…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
If Gregory's were a tone of voice, it’d be husky: unwind over a whisky in the downstairs bar, then unwind some more on squashy sofas upstairs to slinky…
Trastevere & Gianicolo
Left-field in vibe and location, this independent fringe theatre in off-the-beaten-tourist-track Monteverde stages interesting, cutting-edge new work,…
Milan
Most big-name music artists that play Milan do so at major venues outside the city centre. Mediolanum Forum is one of the largest venues and has hosted…
Le Marche
With its grand ceiling and ornate box seats, Pesaro's historic theatre sets a lavish stage for theatrical performances, concerts and opera, especially…
Sassari
Sassari’s neoclassical theatre in Palazzo di Città stages plays, classical music concerts, film projections and cultural events. Seasonal programs are…
Southern Rome
Once at risk of being turned into a bingo hall, the historic Teatro Palladium (1926), with a beautifully renovated 1920s interior, stages a rich…
Agrigento
This city-run theatre is Sicily's third largest, after Palermo's Teatro Massimo and Catania's Teatro Massimo Bellini. Works by local hero Luigi Pirandello…
Santa Croce
The curtain rises on theatre, dance and classical music at the city's oldest theatre (1854), an elegant ode to 19th-century Florence in Santa Croce. It is…
Verona
Named after the great Italian tragedienne, Adelaide Ristori, this beautiful 19th-century theatre continues to put on a dynamic programme of music, dance…
Bologna
One of Italy's top indie cinemas, run by the world-renowned Cineteca di Bologna. Films are shown in their original language. Tickets are reduced to €5 on…
Verona
This 18th-century theatre, just south of Piazza Brà, has a programme of ballet, opera and symphony concerts that will have you rubbing shoulders with the…
Treviso
Benetton Treviso has 15 Italian rugby championships to its name and is ever-present on the European rugby scene. The stadium in the northwest suburbs is…
Palermo
A short, summer program of mostly popular and operatic music (including prolific national and international acts) in the lovely gardens of the Villa…
Bologna
The city's best alternative-rock club, located about 5km northeast of the centre. It has drawn the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Mars Volta, the Decemberists,…
