After the Teatro Regio Ducale burned on February 25, 1776, ninety wealthy Milanese box owners sought a new opera house. The neoclassical architect Giuseppe Piermarini designed it, and his second plan was accepted after the first was rejected. It stood on the site of the demolished church of Santa Maria della Scala, which gave it its name. La Scala opened on August 3, 1778, with Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
The original house had about 3,000 places, including 678 pit stalls, six tiers of boxes and a gallery above. A renovation in 1907 reduced seating to 1,987. The stage is 53 feet deep, 67 feet wide and 85 feet high (16.15 by 20.4 by 26 m).
Bombing severely damaged the theatre in 1943, and it reopened on May 11, 1946, under Arturo Toscanini. Mario Botta led a controversial renovation, which reportedly cost €61 million and ended on December 7, 2004. The Museo Teatrale is reached from the foyer.
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