A performance of Gustav Mahler's Titan symphony at Venice's historic opera house, La Fenice, will mark the date of the foundation of Europe's first Jewish Ghetto on the 29^th March 1516 and launch a programme of events that will continue for most of the year.

The exhibition Venice, the Jews, Europe will open at Palazzo Ducale on the 19^th June 2016, documenting the daily life of the Jewish community of 500 years ago, composed of Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Portughese and Turks, each speaking their different languages and engaged in a wide range of commercial and cultural activites. Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice will be staged between the 26th-31^st July in the Campo del Ghetto by the American company D. Colombari, with Shylock on trial before a genuine American Supreme Court judge.

The programme of events includes concerts, conferences, exhibitions, documentaries, tourist itineraries and visits to sites of Jewish interest throughout the year. The Venice, Jews, Europe exhibition closes on the 13^th November 2016.

Info: www.veniceghetto500.org