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Room Description

The Teatro alla Scala is built according to the recurring pattern of many of the Italian theaters of the late 18th century, with a horseshoe layout, different orders of boxes and dressing rooms: the layout of the spaces also takes particular account of the functions for which they were intended.

In fact, the most interesting aspect of Piermarini's work lies in the extreme rationality of the design: from the sound of the room, to the complex stage equipment, to the performance rooms, to the services such as the lighting system, heating and toilets.

The construction took two years but today's appearance was obtained with the decorations of 1830. In 1814, the rooms attached to the theater were expanded and the stage was extended to the audience with a stage, comprised between two pairs of Corinthian columns, this to allow artists to be more visible to the public and to fully enjoy the acoustics of the room.

It is precisely to acoustics that we owe the importance of the theater. Giuseppe Piermarini, in fact, in building the majestic plaster vault on wooden ribs supported by roof trusses, created a gap between this and the actual roof of the Theater. Mathematically calculating the size of this empty space, he has reproduced a sort of box like that of musical instruments, in which sound waves circulate perfectly.

The external façade is naturally in neoclassical style, therefore very strict and linear; the central body overlooks the square a terraced porch supported by large pillars, above there is an attic floor, ending with a tympanum supported by twin columns and pilasters.