The experience dedicated to Caterina Cornaro is based on the opera of the same name by Gaetano Donizetti, which, as the opening title of Donizetti Opera 2025, returns to the theatre named after him after thirty years.

The project, promoted by the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti as part of the Donizetti Opera festival, brings together Bergamo’s most important cultural institutions with the aim of offering the public a widespread experience to learn about both 16th-century Venice, against which the profile of the Queen of Cyprus stands out, and the echo of the myth of this famous figure throughout the 19th century, right up to the present day.

The exhibition, held in the Donizetti Studio, stems from the desire to showcase the materials held in the iconographic archive of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti, which allow us to recount the fascination that Caterina Cornaro inspired in the 19th-century opera world and beyond, and to reconstruct the powerful visual dimension linked over time to such an iconic figure.

The exhibition features a special section, curated by the Fondazione Arte della Seta Lisio in Florence, which presents a reconstruction of the stage costumes worn by the character of Caterina Cornaro in the first Neapolitan performance in 1844 and the sumptuous dress worn by the Queen of Cyprus in the painting by Francesco Hayez kept at the Accademia Carrara.

This is a unique opportunity because, for the first time ever, the costumes from a Donizetti premiere have been reconstructed. Also on display is the stage costume worn by soprano Denia Mazzola, the protagonist in the 1995 Bergamo production directed by Gianandrea Gavazzeni.

Caterina Cornaro returns to Bergamo after thirty years, still as charming as ever, just like a queen to be remembered.

The experience continues outside the theatre, transforming Bergamo into a veritable open-air museum: at Accademia Carrara, Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti, Museo Donizettiano and Mura di Bergamo: il Museo.

Caterina Cornaro Experience Pass

By showing a ticket for the Donizetti Opera 2025 festival or the Caterina Cornaro pin (available at the Teatro Donizetti box office for only €2) at the ticket offices of participating museums, you are entitled to reduced admission, where applicable.

Furthermore, if you visit all the venues on the exhibition route and answer the four questions asked by the Donizetti Theatre ticket office correctly, you can purchase a ticket for an opera of your choice from the Donizetti Opera 2025 festival with a 45% discount on the full price.

Project curated by: Tania Cefis, Clelia Epis, Luca Loglio, Alessio Francesco Palmieri Marinoni

Promoted by: Fondazione Teatro Donizetti – Donizetti Opera

In collaboration with: Accademia Carrara, Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai, Fondazione Arte della Seta Lisio, Museo delle storie di Bergamo

Special thanks to: Elena Baistrocchi, Giulia Barcella, Giada Borlotti, Fabrizio Capitanio, Oriana Castagnozzi, Lucia Cecio, Mario Digiglio, Paolo Fabbri, Roberta Frigeni, Cristiana Iommi, Paola Marabelli, Giovanni Mario Nizzola, Francesco Ortona, Felice Pessi, Andrea Rossato, Gianfranco Rota, Nicoletta Tognoni

Photo credits: Fondazione Accademia Carrara – Bergamo, Fondazione Adelaide e Maria Antonietta Pagliara – Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa di Napoli, Ministero della Cultura – Le Gallerie degli Uffizi, Photo Studio U.V.

Graphic Design: NT Next Evolving Communication

Exhibition Set-up: Con.All. Di Conte Giuseppe S.R.L.

Video: Giancarlo De Angeli

Technical partners: Casa d’Arte Fiore Srl, La Nazionale Manifatture s.r.l. Bollate, Manifattura Marina s.a.s. Busto Arsizio, Opera Rara, Silvana Monti Fashion School Busto Arsizio