August 2, 2011 at 5:00 pm

Picture of the Day: Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts in Valencia

by twistedsifter

picture of the day Picture of the Day: Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts in Valencia

 

QUEEN SOFIA PALACE OF THE ARTS – VALENCIA, SPAIN

 

queen sofia palace of the arts in valencia spain Picture of the Day: Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts in Valencia
Photograph by DAVID ILIFF

 

The Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts (Valencian: Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Spanish: Palacio de las Artes Reina Sofía) is an opera house and cultural centre in Valencia, Spain. The theatre opened on 8 October 2005. The first opera presented, Beethoven’s Fidelio, was premiered on 25 October 2006.

The centre was designed by the Valencia-born and internationally known architect, Santiago Calatrava. Construction began in 1995 and it was opened on 8 October 2005. The building rises 14 stories above ground and includes 3 stories below ground. The height of the building is 75 metres (246 ft), making it the tallest opera house in the world. Under the expansive curved-roof structure (230 m (755 ft) in length), lies the 40,000 m2 (431,000 sq ft) building containing four auditoriums. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

via WIKIMEDIA COMMONS