The Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion provides a welcoming entrance to the Historic Asolo Theater and displays The Ringling’s collection of American and European studio glass. The Glass Pavilion is open during regular museum hours and always free to the public. Learn about the Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion.
The Ringling’s Art of Performance program is a vibrant part of the museum’s year-round programming. The performance program’s mission is to present the most relevant and provocative time-based art across a range of performance disciplines that include dance, music, theatre, puppetry, mixed media and performance art, as well as contemporary circus arts. Through public performances and engagement programs with artists in the Historic Asolo Theater and beyond, the program integrates and reflects the museum’s values of inclusion, inspiration and excellence. View the 2022-23 Art of Performance schedule
Our Artists in Residence program embodies our values through diverse and culturally significant programming, community dialogues and arts education opportunities with visiting artists, and through support of creative processes by Florida artists, and national and international performance makers in developmental residencies in the Perret Performance Studio. Learn about the Artists in Residence
The Historic Asolo Theater Seating Chart
Explore past Art of Performance
History of the Historic Asolo Theater
Given John Ringling’s passion for the theatrical movement, color, and emotion of Baroque art, it is apt that the Museum’s first director, A. Everett Austin, Jr., dramatically expanded the showman’s collection by acquiring an 18th-century Italian theater. The theater’s evolution began in the 15th century with Caterina Cornaro, the daughter of a Venetian merchant, who became – through an arranged marriage – the Queen of Cyprus. As a reward for her service, she was granted the village of Asolo, Italy, where (in exile) she reigned over a court renowned for its grace and beauty.
In 1798, architect Antonio Locatelli created the theater in the great hall of Caterina’s palace. When, in 1855, Francesco Martignago redesigned the theater, he preserved the u-shaped form, leading scholars to conclude that the renovation duplicated the original plan. The theater remained in this setting until 1931, when it was dismantled to make way for a film theater. German antiquarian Adolph Loewi purchased the artifact and stored it in Venice for the duration of World War II.
In 1949, the Ringling purchased the theater for $8,000. It opened in its new home in 1952, remaining in the Museum of Art until a new building was constructed for it. When it reopened in 1958, the Asolo became the birthplace for the performing arts in west central Florida. By the close of the 20th century, however, the theater was underused and under funded. It again fell into disrepair.
With the Ringling Master Plan in 2000, restoration began. The panels were again dismantled, and the Museum’s conservation staff worked for over two years to conserve and restore the ornate beauty. The 2006 reinstallation in the Visitors Pavilion adheres to the guidelines of the International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments in the Venice Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites: “the aim is to preserve and reveal the aesthetic and historic value – based on respect for original material and authentic documents. It must stop at the point where conjecture begins ... any extra work which is indispensable must be distinct from the architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp.” Hence, the structure that envelops the 18th-century artifact, along with the auditorium seating and ambient lighting, are all distinctly of the 21st century.