In Palazzo della Ragione is found, encased as in a charming jewelry case, the Teatro della Sena, also referred to as the “Piccola Fenice”. This building also suffered from the dramatic events that hit Feltre in 1509-1510, making its reconstruction necessary and which proceeded in fits and starts for 34 years, from 1549 to 1583.
It was originally built to hold meetings of the Maggior Consiglio (Greater Council), but by 1621 it was providing a stage for theatrical entertainment at Carnival time. The reputation of this theatre grew to such an extent that by 1802, under the Austrian governement, the architect Giannantonio Selva and the interior designer Tranquillo Orsi, who both worked on the architecture and decorative design respectively, of the Teatro della Fenice di Venezia, were invited to refurbish the “Little Fenice”.
Orsi is also responsible for the magnificent 1843 curtain, recently restored, that together with other decorative stagecraft from the 18th and 19th Centuries, represent a unique national treasure.
