Teatro Politeama - Palermo

The neoclassical theater was built from 1867 to 1874 by Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda, who was inspired by buildings in Pompeii.

The theater was to be built on the edge of Palermo's monumental structure as an ideological reference point for the expansion of the modern city. Unlike the Teatro Massimo, which was primarily intended to meet the aristocratic need for an opera house suitable for grand opera performances, it was to be dedicated to the pleasure and entertainment of a more popular audience , with productions such as operettas, comic and dramatic works, balls, parties, circus and equestrian shows.

It was therefore decided to build a large open-air amphitheater , but in 1868 it was decided to convert the amphitheater into a theater hall so that the range of performances could be expanded with music and plays.

Colonnades have been placed in front of the semicircular facade , with columns in the Doric order on the ground floor and columns in the Ionic order on the first floors . The entrance is designed as a triumphal arch crowned with a Quadriga , designed by Mario Rutelli. On either side of the main entrance to the theater, behind the two large candelabra , are the two plaques with the historical epigraphs dictated by Isidoro La Lumia and at the top the two bas-reliefs depicting the 'Hunger' , designed by the painter Pensabene.

Inside there is a horseshoe-shaped hall with two floors with boxes and a double-wide gallery/amphitheater with a capacity then planned for five thousand spectators , while on the proscenium there is a Corinthian colonnade in hexastyle with a bronze bust of Giuseppe Garibaldi in the center , bordered on both sides by allegories of Tragedy and Comedy.

Today the theater is the prestigious seat of the Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana and is an important landmark for the city of Palermo, both in terms of location and prominence, so much so that the two large squares (Ruggero Settimo and Castelnuovo), which are talked about is commonly called Piazza Politeama .

Willem Vandenameele