The Museo Teatrale alla Scala is a theatrical museum and library attached to the Teatro alla Scala in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Although it has a particular focus on the history of opera and of that opera house, its scope extends to Italian theatrical history in general, and includes displays relating, for example, to the '' commedia dell'arte'' and to the famous stage actress Eleonora Duse. The museum, which is adjacent to the opera house in the

Piazza della Scala Piazza della Scala is a pedestrian central square of Milan, Italy, connected to the main square of Milan, Piazza del Duomo, by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II passage. It is named after the renowned Teatro alla Scala opera house, which occupie ...

, was opened on 8 March 1913 and was based on a large private collection which had been purchased at auction two years earlier, with funds raised both from government and private sources. The displays include costumes,

set design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

s, autograph scores, and musical instruments of historical interest as well as paintings of musicians and actors, and a range of related paraphernalia including precious ceramic figures portraying characters from the ''commedia dell'arte'', and

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

s which used to be played in the theatre's foyer. The Biblioteca Livia Simoni, the museum's library, is situated at the II floor of the Museum. It was formed in 1952 with 40,000 volumes donated by author and '' Corriere della Sera'' critic

Renato Simoni Renato Simoni (Verona, 5 September 1875 – Milan, 5 July 1952) was an Italian journalist, playwright, writer and theatrical critic noted for his collaboration work with Giuseppe Adami for Giacomo Puccini's ''Turandot''. Simoni's career was entire ...

; it is named in honour of his mother. Today it holds some 140,000 works related to theatre history, opera and ballet including librettos, periodicals and the correspondence of musicians, actors and dancers, as well as books.

External links

* Websit

{{DEFAULTSORT:Museo Teatrale Alla Scala Museums established in 1913 Museums in Milan Music museums in Italy Opera museums Libraries in Milan Theatre in Italy Music in Milan 1913 establishments in Italy La Scala Theatre museums Library buildings completed in 1913 Tourist attractions in Milan

See also

External links