Teatro Massimo in Palermo is built in a neoclassical-eclectic style and is one of the main symbols of the city.
Work began on 12th January 1875, the anniversary of the Sicilian revolution of 1848.
After almost 22 years, in 1897, the theater was inaugurated and dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II, King of the newborn Kingdom of Italy.
The inauguration took place on 16th May 1897 with the opera “Falstaff” by Giuseppe Verdi.
Teatro Massimo is the largest theater in Italy and the third in Europe, second only to the Palais Garnier in Paris, and the Hof-Opernhaus in Vienna.
The central aspect of the theater is a set of different architectural styles: the monumental staircase in classical style, the pronaos with Corinthian columns, the pediment in Greco-Roman style.
Two bronze groups with lions flanking the staircase depict Tragedy and Lyric.
The dome above the entrance hall has a diameter of almost 28 meters and is composed of an iron structure covered with bronze scales of Corinthian inspiration.
The interior of the great hall consists of five orders each consisting of 31 boxes, to which is added the gallery, for a total of 1,381 seats (originally there were 3,000). In the center of the second order of boxes there is a royal box with the Savoy coat of arms.
The ceiling of the large hall is characterized by the movable ceiling decorated with a symbolic wheel formed by 11 canvas panels. The paintings represent the triumph of music. A rope mechanism lifts the petals upwards, thus allowing natural ventilation.
The elegant decorations are inspired by European Art Nouveau. Among the other rooms of the theater, the UN room (which in 2000 hosted the conference on organized crime), the Pompeian room and the hall of coats of arms.
In 1974 the Theatre was closed for renovation work, which lasted until 12th May 1997.
Today the theater, which has now become the symbolic monument of Palermo, maintains its original vocation and hosts a long program of shows.
