Teatro Massimo

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Lonely Planet review

Built between 1875 and 1897 by Giovanni Battista Basile and subsequently his son, Ernesto, to celebrate the unification of Italy, Teatro Massimo has become a symbol of the triumph and tragedy of Palermo itself.

Supposedly the third-largest 19th-century opera house in Europe (only the Paris and Vienna Opera Houses are larger), its long history is symptomatic of the conflicting powers that struggle for supremacy in Palermo society - civic pride and cultural creativity pitted against the sinister bureaucracy and Mafia control (which is said to have been responsible for the extraordinary 24 years it took to restore the theatre).

Appropriately, the closing scene of The Godfather III, with its visually stunning juxtaposition of high culture and low crime, drama and death, was filmed here.

Giovanni Basile was Palermo's most popular architect in the years preceding WWI and, in addition to the theatre, he also designed the two kiosks outside it, which now sell newspapers, tobacco and magazines. Tours run every 30 minutes.