Teatro dell’Opera del Casinò di Sanremo

Eugène Ferret's casino opened on the Riviera on 14 January 1905, an Art Nouveau building on the slope above Sanremo's seafront, and it was conceived from the start as more than a gaming house: inside it is a theatre of 255 seats, with a further ninety-nine in the gallery. Italy's national song festival was born in the casino's ballroom in 1951 and stayed until 1976, when it moved to the Teatro Ariston nearby. The theatre keeps a concert life of its own, giving the city's symphony orchestra a room whose small dimensions favour soloists and chamber-scaled programmes over anything grander.