Teatro Massimo
Italy's largest opera house, a neoclassical landmark in Palermo with daily 40-minute guided tours.
The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele was designed by Giovan Battista Filippo Basile after a competition held in 1864 and finished by his son Ernesto after his death. Work took more than two decades, partly because it required clearing a convent and stretches of the old city walls, and the house opened in 1897 with Verdi's Falstaff. With around 1,300 seats it is the largest opera house in Italy and one of the largest in Europe.
Its Greek-revival front rises on a broad flight of steps flanked by bronze lions, and the auditorium is covered by a domed ceiling whose painted panels open like flower petals for ventilation. The theatre was closed for restoration from 1974 and did not fully reopen until 1997. It gives opera, ballet and symphonic seasons, and admits visitors for short guided tours of the hall, the royal box and the echo room through the day.
Highlights
- Largest opera house in Italy, seating about 1,300
- Greek-revival portico and steps with bronze lions
- Domed ceiling with petal panels that open for ventilation
- Short guided tours of the hall, royal box and echo room
