Teatro Nazionale –known today as the Barclays National Theater – is one of the most important and popular theaters in the city, built in the 1920s by the architect Mauro Rota.

For years it was a point of reference for theater in Milan, before it was converted into a cinema. In 1979 it returned to its original vocation of hosting artists such as Macario, Carlo Dapporto, Ugo Tognazzi and Totò, hit musicals and important shows such as the Telegatti awards.

Since 2001, after a partial renovation and many years dedicated to prose, musicals were added to the theater's playbill.

After being closed for three years for a complex and complete renovation, in 2009 the theater's management was turned over to the multinational Stage Entertainment group that, for the first time in Italy, introduced high quality musicals to the programme for at least an entire season, following in the tradition of Broadway and London theaters.

Since 2009, major productions have been staged here such as Beauty and the Beast, Mamma Mia!, Sister Act , Saturday Night Fever and Ghost. These incredible long-running shows have remained popular with both audiences and critics.

Following the construction of a parking lot, even a portion of Piazza Piemonte, where the theater stands, was renovated. This project also involved the creation of the so-called Park of the arts, a green area with benches, a fountain and three sculptures by Aligi Sassu: The great cyclist, The horse of Maia and God Pan is dead.