What if we momentarily forgot the history of the construction of Palermo’s Teatro Lirico Vittorio Emanuele, better known as Massimo, and instead let our imaginations run wild, playing detectives to unravel the enigma behind the inscription on the entrance pediment?

Would two or three days at most (“due o tre giorni al Massimo”) suffice to uncover the mystery that has intrigued (or puzzled?) many Palermitans – and anyone deeply curious about it – since its inauguration on May 16, 1897?