Teatro Massimo is the largest opera house in Italy and among the largest in Europe. Construction began in 1875 under architect Giovan Battista Filippo Basile and was completed by his son Ernesto after his father’s death, finally opening to the public in 1897. On a walking tour of Palermo, pilgrims often pause here to admire a building that has stood as a symbol of the city’s cultural life for well over a century.
The theater is renowned for its exceptional acoustics, said to be among the best in all of Europe. Its neoclassical facade, fronted by six imposing Corinthian columns, gives way to a richly decorated interior of gilded balconies and painted ceilings, a striking contrast to the sacred spaces that fill most of our pilgrimage itinerary.
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