Piazza della Scala is a pedestrian central square of Milan, Italy, connected to the main square of Milan, Piazza del Duomo, by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II passage.
 It is named after the renowned Teatro alla Scala opera house, which occupies the north-western side of the square; the building actually includes both the opera house and the Museo Teatrale alla Scala (La Scala Museum), dedicated to the history of La Scala and opera in general.
 On the opposite side to "La Scala", to the south-east, is the facade of Palazzo Marino, Milan's city hall.
 Another relevant building on the square, on the north-eastern side, is the Palazzo della Banca Commerciale Italiana.
 The south-western side of the square has the entry to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele as well as Palazzo Beltrami.
 Most of the architecture of the square is due to architect Luca Beltrami, who designed the eponymous palace, the facade of Palazzo Marino, and the Banca Commerciale Italiana building.
 The centre of the square is marked by the monument of Leonardo da Vinci by sculptor Pietro Magni (1872).
Carlo Maria Badini (2 June 1925, Bologna — 19 April 2007, Bologna) was a renowned Italian arts administrator.
 From 1964 to 1977 he was the Sovrintendente or General Manager of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and from 1977 through 1990 he was the Sovrintendente of La Scala.
 Badini created controversy as a result of the unorthodox methods he used to revitalize La Scala's finances, which had reportedly reached a 2.8 million dollar (US) deficit, such as the introduction of television cameras to record performances and allowing advertisements on the programmes.
 These innovations allowed the opera house to emerge from the deficit within two years of their implementation.
 Upon his 1990 departure from La Scala, Badini continued work in the Italian artistic community, becoming chairman of the National Theatre Organization in Italy and co-founding the Mozart Orchestra in Bologna, which he formed alongside former La Scala music director Claudio Abbado.
Emilio Venturini (1878 - 1952) was an Italian operatic lyric tenor known for his portrayal of character roles.
 He made his professional opera debut in 1900 in Italy where he remained for the next several years.
 In 1901 he sang the role of Brighella in Mascagni's "Le maschere" at the Teatro Regio in Turin.
 He made his La Scala debut in 1903 as Froh in Wagner's "Das Rheingold" and sang in the premiere of Umberto Giordano's "Siberia".
 In 1904, he originated the role of Prince Yamadori in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" at La Scala.
 In 1905, Venturini joined the roster of the Opéra National de Paris.
 In 1907 he moved to London to sing with Royal Opera at Covent Garden.
 In 1910, Venturini became a member of the Chicago Opera Association where he performed roles until the summer of 1917.
 While in Chicago he sang mostly character parts but did sing some major roles like Turiddu in "Cavalleria rusticana", Edgardo in "Lucia di Lammermoor" and the Pinkerton in "Madama Butterfly".
 In 1911 he sang the roles of Cassio in Verdi's "Otello" and Spoletta in Puccini's "Tosca" at the Metropolitan Opera.
 Venturini also returned to Italy for brief periods in 1910, 1911, and 1916 to perform roles with the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.
 In 1921, Venturini joined the roster at La Scala and sang roles with that opera house until 1948.
 He notably originated the roles of Il Tempiere in Boito's "Nerone" in 1924 and Pang in Puccini's "Turandot" in 1926.
 and was the first to record the role of Nereo in Boito's "Mefistofele" in the 1931 La Scala recording.
Sette scialli di seta gialla/ Seven Shawls of Yellow Silk (International title: Crimes of the Black Cat) is a 1972 Italian giallo film.
 It was directed by Sergio Pastore and written by Pastore, Alessandro Continenza and Giovanni Simonelli.
 "Sette scialli di seta gialla" stars Anthony Steffen, Sylva Koscina, Jeannette Len, Renato De Carmine, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart and Umberto Raho.
La Scala Theatre Ballet School (Italian: "Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala" ) is one of the leading classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of La Scala Theatre Ballet, an international ballet company based at La Scala in Milan, Italy.
 The school forms part of the theatre's Academy for Performing Arts.
The La Scala Theatre Ballet (Italian: "Corpo di ballo del Teatro alla Scala" ) is the resident classical ballet company at La Scala in Milan, Italy.
 One of the oldest and most renowned ballet companies in the world, the company predates the theatre, but was officially founded at the inauguration of La Scala in 1778.
 Many leading dancers have performed with the company, including Mara Galeazzi, Alessandra Ferri, Viviana Durante, Roberto Bolle and Carla Fracci.
 The official associate school of the company is the La Scala Theatre Ballet School (Italian: "Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala" ), a constituent of the La Scala Theatre Academy (Italian: "Accademia Teatro alla Scala" ).
Francesco Dominici (1885–1968) was an Italian operatic tenor particularly admired for his acting in comedic roles.
 He made his professional opera debut as Fernando in Donizetti's "La favorite" at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo in 1914.
 He created the role of Prunier in the original 1917 production of Puccini's "La rondine" at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo, a role which he performed at many other opera houses including the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.
 Over the next several years he played mostly leading roles at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome including Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Bohème", Fenton in Verdi's "Falstaff", and the Ernesto in Donizetti's "Don Pasquale".
 In the early 1920s he joined the roster at La Scala where he began playing more buffo roles than leading roles.
 In 1921, he sang the role of doctor Cajus in Verdi's Falstaff at La Scala and in 1922 was Filipeto in the company's first production of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's "I quattro rusteghi".
 In 1926 he created the role of Emperor Altoum in the original production of Puccini's "Turandot" at La Scala.
 In 1929 he went on tour with La Scala to Germany.
 Other roles that Dominici performed at La Scala include David in Wagner's "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg", Monostatos in Mozart's "The Magic Flute", and the Neipperg in Umberto Giordano's "Madame Sans-Gêne".
 In 1931 he moved to Cuba, where he taught music for many years.
 Dominici died in Havana in 1968.
The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution (Italian: Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ] ) is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini.
 The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy "Le Barbier de Séville" (1775).
 The première of Rossini's opera (under the title "Almaviva, o sia L'inutile precauzione") took place on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro Argentina, Rome.
PierLuigi Samaritani (September 29, 1942, Novara - January 5, 1994, Rome) was a renowned opera director/production designer, who began his career at a young age, working alongside some of the greatest names in theatre, opera and ballet, such as Lila de Nobili, Giancarlo Menotti, Franco Zeffirelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev and many more.
 Samaritani had an enormous talent, which allowed him to take on all the rolls the theatre, opera and ballet demanded, making sure to always be involved in all aspects of his productions even when delegating.
 From the creation of his "sketches" of the set, which were more like works of art in and of themselves to the smallest change in an extra’s costume, he was a true perfectionist preoccupied with every detail.
 His productions graced the stage of countless opera houses and theaters, amongst them La Scala di Milano, Teatro Regio of Parma, The Metropolitan Opera House, American Ballet Theatre and the Festival of Two Worlds at Spoleto (Festival dei Due Mondi), where he collaborated for many years, alongside his dear friend, Gian Carlo Menotti.
 The Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto founded in 1947 in Spoleto, by Adriano Belli created a special award carrying the name of Pier Luigi Samaritani, awarded each year to the set designer with the best set design of the opera season.
La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder or Die seidene Leiter) is an operatic "farsa comica" in one act by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa.
 It was first performed in Venice, Italy, at the Teatro San Moisè on 9 May 1812.
 The overture has been frequently recorded and continues to be featured in the modern concert repertoire.

Question: Which opera, if any, between La scala di seta and The Barber of Seville is performed in fewer acts ?
Answer: La scala di seta