Teatro Massimo, Palermo, Italy

The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe. Construction started in 1874, but was stopped for eight years from 1882 until 1890. Finally, on 16 May 1897, twenty-two years after the laying of the foundation stone, it was inaugurated with a performance of Verdi's Falstaff conducted by Leopoldo Mugnone.

Basile was inspired by ancient and classical Sicilian architecture and, thus, the exterior was designed in the high neoclassical style incorporating elements of the Greek temples at Selinunte and Agrigento. Realized in the late-Renaissance style, the auditorium was planned for 3,000 people, but, in its current format, it seats 1,381, with 7 tiers of boxes rising up around an inclined stage, and shaped in the typical horseshoe style.

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User Reviews

Gabriele Amorelli (15 months ago)
Teatro massimo is a beautiful monument of neoclassical and liberty style. Second in Europe for dimensions. The tour is interesting and exhaustive both in English and Italian language. If you’re lucky you may access the rehearsals of some play during your visit and enjoy the great atmosphere.

Val Kane (15 months ago)
I have wanted to visit Corleone since childhood, it was interesting, the guide was a let down, the museum was small but again interesting, the town is a mix of old and new, worth a visit

R K Lee (15 months ago)
Interesting, enchanting, imposing and impressive... For Euro12 each, the guided tour of Teatro Massimo was well worth the money. The building in and of itself was imposing and impressive, but to fully appreciate the significance of the opera house, one must also explore its interior. Since there were no live performances during our time in Palermo, our best available option was the guided tour in English. Yes, some additional preventive maintenance was needed and no doubt will be done as schedules and funds allow...probably similar to our own homes. Overall, the viewing of Teatro Massimo was both interesting and enchanting, so now we only lack attending a live performance. Throughout our tour, I tended to trail the group a bit. The photo ops were cleaner and mostly devoid of other people.

Rajesh Nair (15 months ago)
Spectacular theatre, third largest in Europe after Paris and Vienna, and the largest in Italy I am pretty pleased to say I been to all three , Turandot today

Aliaksandr Valchetski (15 months ago)
One of the biggest theaters in the Europe. Highly recommend guided excursion. You’ll fully see theater from the inside and guide was good. Worth the money. In March we didn’t buy excursion tickets beforehand, but it might be crowded in high season. If you want to visit a show just don’t buy the cheapest tickets as you will not see anything (that’s why tickets are cheap). If you don’t want to go inside it’s still worth to visit as the building is beautiful

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