La Scala is the celebrated opera house of Milan, designed by the architect Giuseppe Piermarini and built after fire destroyed the earlier Teatro Regio Ducale. Its name comes from the church of Santa Maria alla Scala, which stood on the site, and it opened under Austrian rule with an opera by Antonio Salieri. In the nineteenth century it premiered works by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi, and the premiere of Puccini's Madama Butterfly in 1904 was a famous failure. The theatre was bombed in the Second World War and reopened in 1946 with a concert conducted by Arturo Toscanini. It remains one of the leading opera houses in the world.
Before and after
- 30 May 1778Death of Voltaire
- from June 1778 to September 1783Anglo-French War of 1778–1783
- 28 June 1778Battle of Monmouth
- 2 July 1778Death of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 3 August 1778Construction of La Scala
- 11 November 1778Cherry Valley massacre
- 6 December 1778Birth of Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
- 17 December 1778Birth of Humphry Davy
- 14 February 1779Death of James Cook
More in Art, literature & culture
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- from 6 April 1896 to 15 April 18961896 Summer Olympics
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.