The Politeama Theatre ( Italian: Teatro Politeama, complete name Teatro Politeama Garibaldi) is a theatre of

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

. It is located in the central Piazza Ruggero Settimo and represents the second most important theatre of the city after the Teatro Massimo. It houses the

Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, cel ...

History

In 1864 the municipality of Palermo launched an international competition for the construction of a monumental opera house (the Teatro Massimo) and, a year later, an internal competition for the construction of a diurnal multi-purpose theatre (hence the name ''"Politeama"'' from the Greek language). The architectural project was assigned to

Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giuse ...

. The theatre would have to be built on the border of the monumental structure of Palermo, as an ideal point of reference of the city's expansion. Therefore, unlike the "aristocratic" Teatro Massimo, the Politeama would have to house more popular shows (operetta, festivals, equestrian shows, etc.). Palermo BW 2012-10-09 16-43-32

Then, it was decided to erect a large opencast amphitheatre at the beginning of

Viale della Libertà Viale may refer to: People * Fabio Viale (born 1975), Italian sculptor * Giovanna Viale (born 1949), Italian geneticist * Jean-Louis Viale (1933–1984), French jazz drummer * Juan Manuel Viale (born 1981), Argentinian football player * Julien Via ...

. In 1865 the contract with the construction company Galland was signed, but the construction started only in 1867. A year later the project was modified because it was decided to transform the amphitheatre into a real theatrical house. In the meantime, the work slow down due to problems that have arisen between the municipality and the Galland company. In 1869 the municipality decided to name the building after Gioachino Rossini, but later this intention was dismissed. On 7 June 1874 the theatre was inaugurated with the opera ''

I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian opera (''Tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for an opera by Nicol ...

'' of Vincenzo Bellini. However, the building wasn't complete yet. During the following years the name of the building was simply "Teatro Municipale Politeama". In 1882

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

died and the theatre was named after him. Even though the covering had been made in 1877 by the Fonderia Oretea, the last interventions were completed in 1891, when Palermo hosted the Esposizione Nazionale. At that time dates back the official opening in the presence of King Umberto I of Italy and of Queen

Margherita Margherita is an Italian feminine given name. It also is a surname. As a word, in Italian it means " daisy". Given name As a name, it may refer to: *Margherita Aldobrandini (1588–1646), Duchess consort of Parma *Margherita de' Medici (1612 ...

. On that occasion

Francesco Tamagno Francesco Tamagno (28 December 1850 – 31 August 1905) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang with enormous success throughout Europe and America.Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages, On 5 February ...

was the protagonist of

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

''. Between 1910 and 2006 the foyer of the theatre was home of the Galleria d'arte moderna di Palermo. The Politeama is the headquarters of the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana since 2001.

Description

The building is an important example of Neoclassical architecture. It has a large entrance by way of triumphal arch topped by the bronze quadriga designed by Mario Rutelli. This quadriga depicts the ''"Triumph of Apollo and

Euterpe Euterpe (; el, Εὐτέρπη, lit=rejoicing well' or 'delight , from grc, εὖ, eû, well + el, τέρπειν, térpein, to please) was one of the Muses in Greek mythology, presiding over music. In late Classical times, she was named muse ...

"'' flanked by two statues of knights on horseback, representation of the ''"Olympic Games"'', work of Benedetto Civiletti. On both sides of the entrance there are commemorative plaques recording the epigraphs dictated by the historian Isidoro La Lumia. At the top there are two bass reliefs depicting the ''"Fames"'' draw by the painter

Giuseppe Pensabene Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Gius ...

and another, under the quadriga, depicting little angels, work of Mario Rutelli. Around the entrance a semicircular structure develops with two orders of colonnade. A rich polychrome decoration, both within and outside the theatre, was made by eminent local painters like

Nicolò Giannone Nicolò () is an Italian male given name. Another variation is Niccolò, most common in Tuscany. It may refer to: * Nicolò Albertini, statesman * Nicolò Amati, luthier * Nicolò Barella, Italian footballer * Nicolò Barattieri, Italian engineer ...

Luigi Di Giovanni is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...

Michele Corteggiani Michele (), is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identically ...

Giuseppe Enea Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Gius ...

Rocco Lentini Rocco Lentini (1858 – November 1943) was an Italian painter, noted for directing the team responsible for the ceiling decorations of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Biography Rocco Lentini was born in Palermo in 1858 and died in Venice in 194 ...

Enrico Cavallaro Enrico is both an Italian language, Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from ''Heinrich (given name), Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Judaeo-Spanish, Ladino. Equivalents in ...

Carmelo Giarrizzo Carmelo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Carmelo Anthony (born 1984), American basketball player * Carmelo Antrone Lee (born 1977), Puerto Rican basketball player * Carmelo Bene (1937-2002), Italian director, actor, phi ...

, Francesco Padovano,

Giovanni Nicolini Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

and

Gustavo Mancinelli Gustavo Mancinelli (1842 in Rome – 12 April 1906, in Naples) was an Italian painter, who made portraits and depicted many Orientalist subjects. Biography The son and pupil of the painter Giuseppe Mancinelli, he exhibited great talent at a ver ...

. In the lateral gardens there are the sculptures of a

Bacchante In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Maenads were known as Bassarids, ...

(work of

Valerio Villareale Valerio or Valério is a male given name in several languages, derived from the Roman surname ''Valerius'', which itself is derived from the Latin verb ''valere'' - "to be strong". ''Valerio'' also appears as a family name or surname. Valerio is ...

), of a

Sylph A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have be ...

(work of

Benedetto De Lisi Benedetto is a common Italian name, the equivalent of the English name Benedict. Notable people named Benedetto include: People with the given name * Benedetto Accolti (disambiguation), several people * Benedetto Aloi (1935–2011), American m ...

) and of David (work of Antonio Ugo).

Gallery

File:Tiatru Politeama.jpg, Quadriga with flanking knights File:Teatro Politeama, Palermo, frontón sobre arco, Sicilia, Italia, 2015.JPG, Reliefs File:Palermo-AP-p1070692.jpg, Colonnades File:David by Antonio Ugo-Palermo.jpg, ''David'' of Antonio Ugo File:DSCF1839-Palermo-Sicily-Italy-Castielli CC0-HQ (3492439684).jpg, Painting File:«Eschilo presenta a Gerone le Etnee a Siracusa» Particolare 2.jpg, Painting

References

External links

*
Image gallery
*
Profile of the theatre - ''arte.it''
*

{{authority control Politeama Neoclassical architecture in Palermo Politeama Music venues completed in 1891

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References

External links