{"id":22713,"date":"2026-11-13T12:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T11:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/?p=22713"},"modified":"2026-11-13T15:19:02","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T14:19:02","slug":"venice-takes-to-the-stage-to-tell-its-own-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/venice-takes-to-the-stage-to-tell-its-own-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Venice takes to the stage to tell its own story"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The <\/span>new season of Teatro di Cittadinanza<\/b><\/span> has got off to a flying start. This<\/span> community theatre<\/b><\/span> project was launched in Venice after many years of hard work, thanks to the <\/span>Venetian Mattia Berto<\/b><\/span>, aged 44, who now has many new projects and performances to organise across the city: \u201cTeatro di Cittadinanza has been active for almost twenty years now; it\u2019s<\/span> a project deeply rooted in the Venetian community,\u201d<\/b><\/span> explains its founder. A format that<\/span> has also become a registered trademark<\/b><\/span> in recent years and which, after launching its <\/span>Manifesto in St Mark\u2019s Square<\/b><\/span>, is now touring throughout Italy. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve just returned from Sardinia, where we ran two workshops that culminated in two performances; we also carried out a project on bullying in a Year 7 class in Treviso with around 80 pupils, says an enthusiastic Mattia Berto, who, as part of the <\/span>\u2018Lei\u2019<\/b><\/span> project with Ca\u2019 Foscari University,, has also created<\/span> \u2018Magnolia\u2019:<\/b><\/span> a three-day workshop alongside <\/span>Selene Gandini<\/b><\/span> and the designer <\/span>Roberto Piffer<\/b><\/span>. A group of 10 young female students from various backgrounds and an equal number of adult women from the Teatro di Cittadinanza \u2013 symbolically representing mothers and daughters \u2013 drew on their own lived experiences to reflect on the passing of the torch from one generation to the next, transforming this into a performance at the Auditorium Santa Margherita that drew a large audience. \u201cThis is very important to me,\u201d says Berto. \u201cThe Teatro di Cittadinanza <\/span>is like a collective<\/b><\/span> where people with different stories make their own contributions; <\/span>the important thing is that we listen to one another<\/b><\/span>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":22657,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1998],"tags":[3607,3608,3609,3556,1999],"class_list":["post-22713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ve-nice","tag-citizenship","tag-goldoni-en","tag-mattia-berto-en","tag-theatre","tag-venice"],"acf":{"categoria":[1998],"categoria_source":{"label":"Category","type":"taxonomy","formatted_value":[{"term_id":1998,"name":"Ve-nice","slug":"ve-nice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1998,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":35,"filter":"raw"}]},"sottotitolo_h2":"Mattia Berto\u2019s \u2018Teatro di Cittadinanza\u2019, which is becoming increasingly purposeful, has resumed its activities in Venice with new events at the Teatro Goldoni, Casa Goldoni and in prison. Berto\u2019s passion for theatre began when he was just ten years old: \u201cMy theatre is a key tool for cultural regeneration and the revitalisation of communities.\u201d","sottotitolo_h2_source":{"label":"Subtitle","type":"text","formatted_value":"Mattia Berto\u2019s \u2018Teatro di Cittadinanza\u2019, which is becoming increasingly purposeful, has resumed its activities in Venice with new events at the Teatro Goldoni, Casa Goldoni and in prison. Berto\u2019s passion for theatre began when he was just ten years old: \u201cMy theatre is a key tool for cultural regeneration and the revitalisation of communities.\u201d"},"immagini_principale":{"ID":22657,"id":22657,"title":"berto 1","filename":"berto-1.jpg","filesize":268313,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/venice-takes-to-the-stage-to-tell-its-own-story\/berto-1-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"berto-1-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":22713,"date":"2026-11-13 10:05:54","modified":"2026-11-13 14:19:02","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1648,"height":1100,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-768x513.jpg","medium-width":768,"medium-height":513,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":534,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-1536x1025.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1648,"2048x2048-height":1100,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-1320x881.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1320,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":881}},"immagini_principale_source":{"label":"Main images","type":"image","formatted_value":{"ID":22657,"id":22657,"title":"berto 1","filename":"berto-1.jpg","filesize":268313,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/venice-takes-to-the-stage-to-tell-its-own-story\/berto-1-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"berto-1-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":22713,"date":"2026-11-13 10:05:54","modified":"2026-11-13 14:19:02","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1648,"height":1100,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-768x513.jpg","medium-width":768,"medium-height":513,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":534,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-1536x1025.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1648,"2048x2048-height":1100,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-1-1320x881.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1320,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":881}}},"introduzione":"The <\/span>new season of Teatro di Cittadinanza<\/b><\/span> has got off to a flying start. This<\/span> community theatre<\/b><\/span> project was launched in Venice after many years of hard work, thanks to the <\/span>Venetian Mattia Berto<\/b><\/span>, aged 44, who now has many new projects and performances to organise across the city: \u201cTeatro di Cittadinanza has been active for almost twenty years now; it\u2019s<\/span> a project deeply rooted in the Venetian community,\u201d<\/b><\/span> explains its founder. A format that<\/span> has also become a registered trademark<\/b><\/span> in recent years and which, after launching its <\/span>Manifesto in St Mark\u2019s Square<\/b><\/span>, is now touring throughout Italy. \r\n\r\nWe\u2019ve just returned from Sardinia, where we ran two workshops that culminated in two performances; we also carried out a project on bullying in a Year 7 class in Treviso with around 80 pupils, says an enthusiastic Mattia Berto, who, as part of the <\/span>\u2018Lei\u2019<\/b><\/span> project with Ca\u2019 Foscari University,, has also created<\/span> \u2018Magnolia\u2019:<\/b><\/span> a three-day workshop alongside <\/span>Selene Gandini<\/b><\/span> and the designer <\/span>Roberto Piffer<\/b><\/span>. A group of 10 young female students from various backgrounds and an equal number of adult women from the Teatro di Cittadinanza \u2013 symbolically representing mothers and daughters \u2013 drew on their own lived experiences to reflect on the passing of the torch from one generation to the next, transforming this into a performance at the Auditorium Santa Margherita that drew a large audience. \u201cThis is very important to me,\u201d says Berto. \u201cThe Teatro di Cittadinanza <\/span>is like a collective<\/b><\/span> where people with different stories make their own contributions; <\/span>the important thing is that we listen to one another<\/b><\/span>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>","introduzione_source":{"label":"Introduction","type":"wysiwyg","formatted_value":"

The <\/span>new season of Teatro di Cittadinanza<\/b><\/span> has got off to a flying start. This<\/span> community theatre<\/b><\/span> project was launched in Venice after many years of hard work, thanks to the <\/span>Venetian Mattia Berto<\/b><\/span>, aged 44, who now has many new projects and performances to organise across the city: \u201cTeatro di Cittadinanza has been active for almost twenty years now; it\u2019s<\/span> a project deeply rooted in the Venetian community,\u201d<\/b><\/span> explains its founder. A format that<\/span> has also become a registered trademark<\/b><\/span> in recent years and which, after launching its <\/span>Manifesto in St Mark\u2019s Square<\/b><\/span>, is now touring throughout Italy. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve just returned from Sardinia, where we ran two workshops that culminated in two performances; we also carried out a project on bullying in a Year 7 class in Treviso with around 80 pupils, says an enthusiastic Mattia Berto, who, as part of the <\/span>\u2018Lei\u2019<\/b><\/span> project with Ca\u2019 Foscari University,, has also created<\/span> \u2018Magnolia\u2019:<\/b><\/span> a three-day workshop alongside <\/span>Selene Gandini<\/b><\/span> and the designer <\/span>Roberto Piffer<\/b><\/span>. A group of 10 young female students from various backgrounds and an equal number of adult women from the Teatro di Cittadinanza \u2013 symbolically representing mothers and daughters \u2013 drew on their own lived experiences to reflect on the passing of the torch from one generation to the next, transforming this into a performance at the Auditorium Santa Margherita that drew a large audience. \u201cThis is very important to me,\u201d says Berto. \u201cThe Teatro di Cittadinanza <\/span>is like a collective<\/b><\/span> where people with different stories make their own contributions; <\/span>the important thing is that we listen to one another<\/b><\/span>.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n"},"paragrafi_articolo":[{"titolo_paragrafo":"Berto: a passion for the theatre that began at the age of 10 ","testo_paragrafo":"Mattia Berto has been involved in theatre since he was 10 years old. A theatrical, chatty, curious child with a passion for life \u2013 just as he is today \u2013 he loved art, particularly Giulio Romano\u2019s frescoes at Palazzo Te in Mantua and the Canova Plaster Cast Gallery in Possagno, and,<\/span> being passionate about theatre, he was already performing his first improvisations at home. \r\n\r\n<\/b><\/span>His mother, who was related to the family of the painter Guido Cadorin, and his father, a restaurateur and hotelier for generations,<\/span> always gave him the freedom to experiment<\/b><\/span>. \r\n\r\nOne of the first performances his mother took him to see \u2013 and which left a lasting impression on him \u2013 was <\/span>*Mistero Buffo* starring Dario Fo and Franca Rame at the Teatro di Camponogara<\/b><\/span>: \u2018They always involved the audience; I was sitting on stage right next to them. <\/span>I still have the little programme from that evening<\/b><\/span>,<\/span> in which Fo wrote a dedication to me<\/b><\/span>,\u2019 says Berto, recalling that it was at the Teatro Dario Fo in Camponogara that <\/span>he went<\/b><\/span> on <\/span>to direct the children\u2019s theatre season for several years.<\/b><\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen I was 10, my father enrolled me in a course in diction and acting with <\/span>Marcella Duse<\/b><\/span>, who boasted of being related to the great Eleonora.\u201d From then on, he\u2019s always been involved in theatre and was part of a theatre company until he was 20: \u201cAt<\/span> the age of 10, I was already acting in *Spoon River Anthology*,<\/b><\/span> where I played the dead child.\u201d \u2013 he continues \u2013 <\/span>\u201cI was always working with people older than me<\/b><\/span>; it was very stimulating to interact with people of different ages. <\/span>The Teatro di Cittadinanza project came about partly thanks to my sociable nature<\/b><\/span>.\u2019 Then his mother advised him to look around, so during his university years<\/span> he set up the theatre company \u2018La corte dei miracoli\u2019<\/b><\/span> with his friends<\/span>.<\/b><\/span> After graduating from Ca\u2019 Foscari with a degree in<\/span> Performing Arts Techniques under Carmelo Alberti<\/b><\/span>, he also attended<\/span> the International Institute of Commedia dell\u2019Arte<\/b><\/span> at the Teatro Stabile del Veneto,<\/span> directed by Gianni de Luigi<\/b><\/span>: \u201cIt was an interesting training ground; the work was all-encompassing and immersive, from morning till night. That\u2019s where my body, my breathing and my way of doing things changed.\u201d <\/span>","multimedia":"video","video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lGDQP2RIBFM","immagine_paragrafo":{"ID":22659,"id":22659,"title":"berto 2","filename":"berto-2.jpg","filesize":237822,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/venice-takes-to-the-stage-to-tell-its-own-story\/berto-2-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"berto-2-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":22713,"date":"2026-11-13 10:07:24","modified":"2026-11-13 14:19:02","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1648,"height":1100,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-768x513.jpg","medium-width":768,"medium-height":513,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":534,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-1536x1025.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":1648,"2048x2048-height":1100,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-1320x881.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1320,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":881}},"didascalia":""},{"titolo_paragrafo":"Encounters and moments that have inspired a theatre company working with the community","testo_paragrafo":"Among his most memorable encounters, he recalls the one with <\/span>Maurizio Scaparro<\/b><\/span>, who took him on as a young actor for the Biennale Teatro: \u2018It was one of the most electrifying encounters; <\/span>he became my mentor<\/b><\/span>. He <\/span>was a bridge-builder between worlds<\/b><\/span>, a man of connections<\/span> capable of bringing together disparate realities; this is what he taught me and passed on to me<\/b><\/span>.\u201d \r\n\r\nOther \u2018powerful\u2019 personal encounters included that with <\/span>Anna Ponti<\/b><\/span>, with whom he carried out the<\/span> regeneration project for the Teatrino Groggia \u2013 of which Berto was director for 10 years<\/b><\/span> \u2013 as well as those with actress friends such as <\/span>Ottavia Piccolo<\/b><\/span> and Serra Y\u0131lmaz<\/b><\/span><\/span>, who often works with \u00d6zpetek, and the dancer <\/span>Aida Vainieri<\/b><\/span><\/span>. The most significant role he ever played, however, was that of the servant Ariel in Shakespeare\u2019s *The Tempest* when he was a young man: \u201cI was no longer a child and <\/span>gained a different kind of awareness<\/b><\/span>. I realised that my talent lay <\/span>in<\/b><\/span> <\/span>bringing people together<\/b><\/span>, and I decided to put it at the service of the community and <\/span>develop a unique entrepreneurial vision that would set me apart<\/b><\/span> from my colleagues in the industry.\u201d \r\n\r\nThen, during a screening in the Sala Grande at the Venice Film Festival, when the charismatic Dario Fo himself came out to invite those standing outside to take their seats and fill the empty spaces<\/span>, Berto realised that \u2018theatre of assault\u2019\u2014which breaks down the fourth wall\u2014was his calling<\/b><\/span>. \r\n\r\nWith his \u2018Teatro di Cittadinanza\u2019 project, in fact, he dismantles the traditional academic notion of the actor and <\/span>works with the aim of using theatre as a tool for the community<\/b><\/span> that engages in dialogue with the audience. Of course, over time, the performers of Teatro di Cittadinanza have acquired the tools of the actor; they are aware of what it means to be on stage and of dramatic timing, thanks to the workshops led by Berto, who each time creates a dramaturgical structure based on the autobiographical framework that emerges. Yet for him, theatre remains a training ground for the community: \u2018An idea that may perhaps seem bold, but I <\/span>use the language of theatre as a key tool for working on cultural regeneration and the revitalisation of communities<\/b><\/span>. If practised well, the idea is to use theatre as a unifying force <\/span>to break down walls<\/b><\/span>, tell stories and <\/span>bring about revolutions, both small and large<\/b><\/span>.\u2019 <\/span>","multimedia":"immagine","video":null,"immagine_paragrafo":{"ID":22661,"id":22661,"title":"berto 3","filename":"berto-3.jpg","filesize":293428,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-3.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/venice-takes-to-the-stage-to-tell-its-own-story\/berto-3-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"berto-3-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":22713,"date":"2026-11-13 10:08:27","modified":"2026-11-13 14:19:02","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1068,"height":1335,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-3-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-3-614x768.jpg","medium-width":614,"medium-height":768,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-3-768x960.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":960,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-3.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-3.jpg","1536x1536-width":1068,"1536x1536-height":1335,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-3.jpg","2048x2048-width":1068,"2048x2048-height":1335,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-3.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1068,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":1335}},"didascalia":""},{"titolo_paragrafo":"Citizenship workshops have begun at the Goldoni Theatre and Casa Goldoni ","testo_paragrafo":"Now, at the <\/span>Teatro Goldoni<\/b><\/span>,<\/span> part of the Teatro Stabile del Veneto<\/b><\/span> \u2013 where the Teatro di Cittadinanza has been a guest for many years, running ongoing workshops \u2013 the<\/span> \u2018In transito\u2019<\/b><\/span> project has recently got underway. Every Thursday until April, it brings together 33 members of the public for rehearsals above the auditorium. \u2018We will be working on the theme of transit and movement within the city \u2013 <\/span>a political and poetic exploration of what changes, what we leave behind, what we pass through and what we encounter<\/b><\/span>.\u2019 At the end of the workshop in the spring, there will be two performances in the city, set within contexts of urban movement that may involve the vaporetti or the airport. \r\n\r\nOver the years,<\/span> Berto has often staged performances in everyday urban spaces: <\/span>from private homes to hotels, from artisan workshops to the courtroom<\/b><\/span>. \r\n\r\nMeetings organised by the F<\/span>ondazione Musei Civici at Casa Goldoni<\/b><\/span> have also recently begun, taking place every Wednesday. The workshop, for which 20 citizens have signed up, is entitled <\/span>\u2018Principio attivo\u2019<\/b><\/span>: \u2018It is a continuation of a workshop held before the summer called \u201cCasa comune\u201d, in which we began to <\/span>reflect on how cultural venues should open up to citizens and become shared spaces,\u2019<\/b><\/span> explains Berto. \u2018Now we will continue to explore the future of the city and the community. The provocative idea \u2013 which becomes a metaphor \u2013 is that <\/span>we are seeking the remedy to make the community thrive<\/b><\/span>.\u2019 Both <\/span>workshops filled up immediately<\/b><\/span> and have a very long waiting list: \u201cHaving so many people wanting to take part, at a time when theatre is in crisis and it is difficult to engage the younger generations, <\/span>is a very strong sign<\/b><\/span>. The Teatro di Cittadinanza is a community of citizens reflecting on the city and the places they live in.\u201d<\/span>","multimedia":"immagine","video":null,"immagine_paragrafo":false,"didascalia":""},{"titolo_paragrafo":"\u2018Teatro di Cittadinanza\u2019 is also performed in prison ","testo_paragrafo":"The collaboration with the <\/span>Granello di Senape<\/b><\/span> association is also continuing: \u2018We\u2019re returning to the prison with <\/span>a read-aloud workshop on *The Little Prince*<\/b><\/span> for 20 young people. - says Berto - This is a continuation of the <\/span>\u2018Empty the Shop Window\u2019<\/b><\/span> project that we ran in Venice a few months ago. With two performers, in collaboration with the textile company Rubelli, <\/span>we managed to \u2018empty\u2019 the window display of La Toletta bookshop and bring all the books into the prison to encourage reading<\/b><\/span>. - he continues - It will also be an opportunity for discussion and assessment to understand how people are faring in this overcrowded prison. - he concludes - <\/span>We need to put initiatives of this kind into practice to serve people<\/b><\/span>. Two of them have already told me that when they are released from prison, they want to continue practising \u2018Teatro di Cittadinanza\u2019.\u201d. \r\n<\/span>\r\nTo date, around a hundred people are ready to answer the city\u2019s call. In recent years, the project has also carried out various initiatives in schools and has been collaborating for years with the Cavanis and San Francesco di Sales schools. <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019ve even staged performances with as many as 150 citizens<\/b><\/span>. The idea behind the project is to involve as many people as possible, partly to show that Venice, despite its transformations and fragility, <\/span>is a city that is still alive<\/b><\/span>, and that people want to reaffirm their point of view as citizens.\u201d <\/span>","multimedia":"immagine","video":null,"immagine_paragrafo":{"ID":22659,"id":22659,"title":"berto 2","filename":"berto-2.jpg","filesize":237822,"url":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/en\/venice-takes-to-the-stage-to-tell-its-own-story\/berto-2-2\/","alt":"","author":"89","description":"","caption":"","name":"berto-2-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":22713,"date":"2026-11-13 10:07:24","modified":"2026-11-13 14:19:02","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1648,"height":1100,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-768x513.jpg","medium-width":768,"medium-height":513,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-768x513.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":513,"large":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":534,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-1536x1025.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1025,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2.jpg","2048x2048-width":1648,"2048x2048-height":1100,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":"https:\/\/www.gvperte.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/berto-2-1320x881.jpg","mailpoet_newsletter_max-width":1320,"mailpoet_newsletter_max-height":881}},"didascalia":""}],"paragrafi_articolo_source":{"label":"Article Paragraphs","type":"repeater","formatted_value":[{"titolo_paragrafo":"Berto: a passion for the theatre that began at the age of 10 ","testo_paragrafo":"

Mattia Berto has been involved in theatre since he was 10 years old. A theatrical, chatty, curious child with a passion for life \u2013 just as he is today \u2013 he loved art, particularly Giulio Romano\u2019s frescoes at Palazzo Te in Mantua and the Canova Plaster Cast Gallery in Possagno, and,<\/span> being passionate about theatre, he was already performing his first improvisations at home. <\/p>\n

<\/b><\/span>His mother, who was related to the family of the painter Guido Cadorin, and his father, a restaurateur and hotelier for generations,<\/span> always gave him the freedom to experiment<\/b><\/span>. <\/p>\n

One of the first performances his mother took him to see \u2013 and which left a lasting impression on him \u2013 was <\/span>*Mistero Buffo* starring Dario Fo and Franca Rame at the Teatro di Camponogara<\/b><\/span>: \u2018They always involved the audience; I was sitting on stage right next to them. <\/span>I still have the little programme from that evening<\/b><\/span>,<\/span> in which Fo wrote a dedication to me<\/b><\/span>,\u2019 says Berto, recalling that it was at the Teatro Dario Fo in Camponogara that <\/span>he went<\/b><\/span> on <\/span>to direct the children\u2019s theatre season for several years.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 10, my father enrolled me in a course in diction and acting with <\/span>Marcella Duse<\/b><\/span>, who boasted of being related to the great Eleonora.\u201d From then on, he\u2019s always been involved in theatre and was part of a theatre company until he was 20: \u201cAt<\/span> the age of 10, I was already acting in *Spoon River Anthology*,<\/b><\/span> where I played the dead child.\u201d \u2013 he continues \u2013 <\/span>\u201cI was always working with people older than me<\/b><\/span>; it was very stimulating to interact with people of different ages. <\/span>The Teatro di Cittadinanza project came about partly thanks to my sociable nature<\/b><\/span>.\u2019 Then his mother advised him to look around, so during his university years<\/span> he set up the theatre company \u2018La corte dei miracoli\u2019<\/b><\/span> with his friends<\/span>.<\/b><\/span> After graduating from Ca\u2019 Foscari with a degree in<\/span> Performing Arts Techniques under Carmelo Alberti<\/b><\/span>, he also attended<\/span> the International Institute of Commedia dell\u2019Arte<\/b><\/span> at the Teatro Stabile del Veneto,<\/span> directed by Gianni de Luigi<\/b><\/span>: \u201cIt was an interesting training ground; the work was all-encompassing and immersive, from morning till night. That\u2019s where my body, my breathing and my way of doing things changed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","multimedia":"video","video":"