Massimo Vittorio Emanuele Theatre, in Palermo, dates back to the late 19th century, to the Belle Epoque period. It was built according to the project by Palermo-born Giovan Battista Basile and completed by his son Ernesto Basile, a master of Liberty style. An impressive and sumptuous neoclassical structure with perfect acoustics, opened with Verdi’s Falstaff in 1897, Teatro Massimo managed to become one of Italy’s leading theatres. In Europe, it is second only to the Paris Opera.