Teatro Massimo

Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele in Palermo opened its doors to the public on the evening of 16 May 1897, twenty-two years after the solemn public ceremony of the laying of the first stone. This took place on 12 January 1875, and ended a chequered series of vicissitudes with interminable squabbles lasting over ten years. The international competition for the project and realisation of the opera house had been announced by Palermo Council in 1864, and its prime mover was the mayor, Antonio Starrabba di Rudini.