Teatro Garibaldi (Kalsa)

The story

The Teatro Garibaldi was built in the Kalsa around 1861, immediately after the expedition of the Thousand, and took Garibaldi’s name in that atmosphere of Risorgimento enthusiasm.

It is a small Italian-style theatre with a timber structure: built as a neighbourhood theatre, not as a hall of state.

Closed and abandoned for decades, it has been brought back and now hosts seasons of contemporary and experimental theatre.

Why it is worth it

It is the opposite of the Massimo: no marble, no grand staircase, just a wooden room where the audience sits on top of the actors. You go for a performance rather than a visit, and that is exactly why it shows the Palermo that makes culture now, in the quarter changing fastest.