Teatro al Massimo, Opera house and movie theater in Palermo, Italy

Teatro al Massimo is a cinema and theatre in the Seralcadio district of Palermo, on the same square as the Teatro Massimo, from which it takes its name. Architect Giovan Battista Santangelo, from the Basile school, completed it in 1924 in Art Nouveau style: a simple quadrangular block with the entrance on a corner and grid-filled windows on each side. Inside, the audience sits on two levels, the upper gallery built on a plain framework of load-bearing beams.

The Cineteatro Massimo was commissioned by the Biondo family, bourgeois entrepreneurs active in Palermo's social life, and designed by Giovan Battista Santangelo, a pupil of the Basile school; it was completed in 1924. Until the Second World War national theatre companies began their tours here. After 1943 bombings emptied the city and shows became rarer; after the war it served mainly as a first- then second-run cinema until closing in 1977. A group of sector operators reopened it in 1992.

The name comes from the piazza it shares with the Teatro Massimo. Founded by the Biondo family, an entrepreneurial household active in the city's social life between the 19th and 20th centuries, it hosted national companies opening their tours until the Second World War. Today it draws around 200,000 spectators each season.

Visitors can tour the building with a guide to see the architecture and interior details, or attend an evening performance of opera, theater, or film. Planning ahead is helpful if you want to see a specific show or learn about upcoming events.

The theatre takes its name from the piazza it shares with the Teatro Massimo, and its entrance sits on a corner of the quadrangular block. It was commissioned by the Biondo family, the same entrepreneurs behind the theatre of that name, and was completed in 1924.