Teatro Politeama

The story

The Politeama Garibaldi was built between 1867 and 1874 to designs by Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda, in a Palermo that was spreading beyond its walls and wanted a popular theatre alongside the aristocratic one.

The style is neoclassical with Pompeian references: the front is a triumphal arch crowned by a bronze quadriga. Built as an open-air daytime theatre, it was roofed later.

It is now home to the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana and hosts the city’s symphonic season.

Why it is worth it

You do not seek it out: you end up there, because the theatre sits in the middle of a square the whole of Palermo walks through. Look up at the quadriga, then walk round the building to see how a circular theatre is put together. In the evening, lit up and with an audience waiting, the square becomes the modern city’s drawing room.