Opera house Venice commemorates the fire at the Fenice Theater 30 years ago
30 years ago, a devastating fire broke out in the tradition-steeped Teatro La Fenice in Venice. The fire, started by two electricians, destroyed the almost 200-year-old opera house down to its foundations. On Thursday, the city commemorated the catastrophic fire.
29.01.2026, 13:46
SDA
The Venice fire department released a video on Thursday that traces the historic operation to extinguish the fire based on the reports of the two chiefs of operations, David Andrea and Riccardo Bonesso. They were among the first forces to arrive at the Teatro La Fenice during the initial phase of the fire.
The Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, also commemorated the event with a video posted on social media. "Thanks to the extraordinary work of the firefighters and the commitment of an entire community, the theater has come back to life and is now more than ever a place of culture and beauty. The Fenice reborn from its ashes is the symbol of a Venice that does not give up and continues to speak to the world through music and art," explained Brugnaro.
Smoke, flames, explosions and collapsing building components woke the inhabitants of Venice from their sleep on the night of January 29, 1996. The ceiling of the theater collapsed and flames shot meters high into the night sky. In the end, only the façade and parts of the outer walls survived. All that remained of the magnificent interior was a pile of ash. The extinguishing work was made even more difficult by the fact that the adjacent canals carried no water at the time. Extinguishing water had to be pumped from the more distant Grand Canal.
Helicopter operation necessary
A helicopter from Mestre shuttled for hours between the water extraction point and the site of the fire while the firefighters worked among the smoking rubble. Theater director Gianfranco Pontel and the mayor at the time, Massimo Cacciari, decided that the Fenice should be rebuilt on the spot.
Initially, the judicial authorities assumed that the fire was caused by a short circuit. It was only after a few days that the suspicion of arson was confirmed. A year and a half after the major fire, two electricians who were involved in renovation work with their company were arrested in 1997. The work had been considerably delayed and, according to the investigators, the electricians set the fire in order to avoid paying a high contractual penalty.
Perpetrators were convicted
The Supreme Court in Rome, the third and final instance in the Italian criminal system, confirmed the prison sentences against the two perpetrators after several trials. Enrico Carella, owner of the electrical company, was sentenced to seven years in prison, his cousin Massimiliano Marchetti to six years.
The reconstruction of the theater was difficult and accompanied by delays. On December 14, 2003, conductor Riccardo Muti finally stood on the stage of the "new" opera house.
The fire raised fundamental questions about safety in the lagoon city. As a result, strict fire prevention measures were taken. Water reserves were created for particularly vulnerable facilities such as hotels, museums and churches; many buildings now have autonomous extinguishing systems.
