The rubber boom profoundly changed the life and architecture of the city of Belém. The great industrialists came together to finance the construction of an opera house with architecture inspired by La Scala in Milan and the Opéra Garnier in Paris! The Teatro da Paz was inaugurated in 1878 (20 years before the Teatro Amazonas in Manaus). Most of the materials used were imported from Europe. Inside, the Italian-style auditorium is magnificent, with frescoes and a beautiful ceiling.