May 17, 2007

Europe | Italy | Venice

Venice Redux: Strauss & Stucky

By Mark Jolly

You thought you knew Venice? You forgot just one thing: its persistent ability to reinvent history.

view map

For decades, an open-air theatre lay abandoned in front of Europe’s most mobbed piazza. But that — thanks to an international consortium, a famous German tenor, and a Viennese composer — is about to change. Tomorrow, Teatro Verde will be reborn through a summer season of Johann Strauss, on the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Built in 1954, the virtually forgotten 1,500-seater sits opposite St. Marks Square, barely 100 yards from the legendary Hotel Cipriani. And five nights a week through to October — amid over-run weeds, a 15th century monastery and the gently lapping water — it will stage the waltzmeister’s three-act operetta, A Night in Venice.

The VIP package includes enclosed seating, refreshments and a CD. But that’s small fry compared to the Sinking City’s latest luxury experience. On June 1, Hilton Molino Stucky opens its doors with the requisite fanfare that befits the largest hotel in Venice. The restored 19th-century flour mill hasn’t been welcomed by everybody, but it is unequivocally the grandest architectural project in years — with 380 rooms, five restaurants, a rooftop pool, a spa and its own landing jetty on Giudecca Canal.