Arena di Verona, fundraising rises by 25 per cent, € 2.6 million reached
This year reached 2.6 million. Sponsorships also up 12 per cent. The Summer Festival starts on 12 June
Key points
In six years, it has raised almost EUR 12 million (11.8, to be precise). But, above all, it has grown year by year and has become a 'fundraising' model for other Italian opera foundations and cultural institutions.
The 67 Columns: an established community
The '67 Colonne' project of the Arena di Verona reached a record 2.6 million euro in 2026, a 25% increase over last year, thanks to the contribution of companies that joined the fundraising initiative launched for the first time in 2021.
'This year's is an incredible result,' commented the Foundation's superintendent Cecilia Gasdia. Like Giovanni Zenatello, to whom "opera gave everything and he gave opera to everyone", our supporters, 67 pillars and sponsors, make it possible to continue our cultural journey" A community "by now consolidated", observes Stefano Trespidi, deputy artistic director of the Arena Foundation, as demonstrated by the high number of confirmations among patrons, who this year accounted for 96% of the total, and the increase in their commitment to the Foundation.
The project's 'founders' - Gianluca Rana, ceo of Pastificio Rana, and Sandro Veronesi, founder and president of Oniverse - have been joined over the years by many other entrepreneurs, especially from the local area, eager to contribute to an initiative that strengthens the local economy, fuels the cultural offer and opens up international prospects. To them and to the theatre's other supporters (including Unicredit, main sponsor of the Arena Opera Festival) a gala evening was dedicated on the eve of the new season, the longest ever, which from 5 June to 12 September will see 53 evenings of performances including opera, concerts and dance, thanks to the work of 1,300 people including artists, technicians and administrative staff.
An induced revenue of almost 2 billion for the country
The Arena - a symbol of the city of Verona and of Italia, known throughout the world - is moreover a great engine of wealth, as well as a generator of beauty and culture. According to a recent study entrusted to Nomisma, the theatre with its activities generates in the country an economic induced activity of almost 2 billion euro (1,976 million euro), an added value of 670 million, almost 6 thousand jobs and 206 million euro in taxes.
