VISIT THE POLITEAMA THEATRE IN PALERMO

An eclectic and versatile building that never ceases to amaze tourists and residents alike.

The Politeama Theatre dominates the panorama of Piazza Ruggero Settimo, the intersection of some of Palermo's main shopping streets, and is easily reachable within a 5-minute walk of Arché Design Rooms & Suites.
The result of a troubled construction site, due to intricate bureaucratic events, and initially conceived as an open-air theater, today it enchants with its entrance consisting of a triumphal arch surmounted by a quadriga led by Apollo and flanked by a pair of wild bronze horses, the work of sculptors Benedetto Civiletti and Mario Rutelli.

The architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda was inspired for the construction of the Politeama Theatre by the neoclassical style, typical of the late nineteenth century, which took as a model great Roman works such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon. Its semi-cylindrical shape resembles that of a circus theatre and hides a traditional semicircular hall inside. The choice of the typical horseshoe shape was dictated by the desire to make the Politeama Theatre the people's theatre and therefore to make it suitable for hosting up to 5,000 people.

Since its inauguration in 1874, its rooms with Pompeian-style decorations and Art Nouveau chandeliers have hosted not only theatrical performances, but also film performances, circus shows, boxing matches, dances, receptions, cultural events, fashion shows and art exhibitions. Its multiple uses are inherent in the Greek root of its name, which alludes to the different purposes for which it was designed.