Theatre Massimo is the main opera house in the city of Palermo, as well as the third largest theater in Europe, after the Opéra National in Paris and the Staatsoper in Vienna.
Theatre Massimo was designed by the architect Giovanni Battista Basile in a neoclassical-eclectic style. The theatre stands on the place where the monastery of San Giuliano used to be. This old building was demolished at the end of the nineteenth century to make room for the grandiose theatre construction.
The compositional symmetry around the axis of the entrance, the constant repetition of the elements, such as columns and arched windows, the rigorously composed decoration all define a simple spacious structure and a clear, harmonic and geometric volume of Greek and Roman inspiration.
On the front part of the façade the following motto is written: "Art renews people and reveals their lives. The delight is where scenes do not aim to prepare the future".
The exterior of the theater, following the trend of ancient architecture, presents a hexastyle Corinthian pronaos elevated on a monumental staircase on which two bronze lions are placed. It is easy to notice the two allegories - the Tragedy by the sculptor Benedetto Civiliti and the Lyric by the sculptor Maestro Mario Rutelli. The building is dominated by a huge hemispherical dome. The backbone of the dome is a reticular metal structure that rests on a roller system that allows it to move due to temperature changes.
Ticket price for Theatre Massimo
If our visitors would like to see Opera, Ballet or a Concert, the tickets can be purchased on the website of Theatre Massimo and the prices start as low as 27 euros to 140 euros.
(!) Visitors should book their tickets in advance as all shows are usually sold out. There is also a possibility to find “last minute” tickets on the show date. You should show up in front of the ticket office an hour before the show and check the availability.
If you would like just to visit the Theatre without watching the show, the ticket price is: 8 €.
Reduced price is 3 € - valid for students
Free entrance for children under 6 years.
Working hours of Theatre Massimo
Visitors can visit only the Theatre from 09:30am to 5:30pm.
The ticket office is open from 09:30am to 6:00pm.
