Teatro di San Carlo
Europe's oldest working opera house, opened in 1737, with daily short tours of the red-and-gold hall.
The Teatro di San Carlo was commissioned by Charles of Bourbon and opened on his name day in November 1737, making it the oldest opera house in Europe still in continuous use. Built in eight months to designs by Giovanni Antonio Medrano and Angelo Carasale, it stands beside the royal palace, to which it was originally linked by a private corridor. Fire destroyed the interior in 1816 and Antonio Niccolini rebuilt it within months, adding the neoclassical portico on Via San Carlo.
The auditorium holds six tiers of boxes in red and gold around a royal box crowned by the Bourbon arms, and a ceiling painting of Apollo presenting the poets to Minerva. Rossini and Donizetti both served as house composers here, and Verdi's Luisa Miller was written for the theatre. Short guided tours of the hall, foyer and royal box run through the day, and the adjoining MeMus museum holds the historical archive.
Highlights
- Oldest opera house in Europe in continuous use
- Six tiers of boxes around the Bourbon royal box
- Neoclassical portico added by Antonio Niccolini in 1816
- MeMus museum and historical archive next door
