for less than the sum received from the last production, and that he was also in discussions with the San Carlo. Arriving in Messina along with Florimo on the morning of 27 February, Bellini was greeted by several members of his family including his father. They remained in Messina for two days, attending a performance of Il pirata at the Teatro della Munizione, where he was greeted with "loud shouts of pleasure, hand-clapping, and words of praise". Bellini arrived in Catania on 3 March to a civic welcome. He was greeted by the city's authorities and citizens who also feted him at a concert the following evening. This included excerpts from La sonnambula and Il pirata at the Teatro Communale, now replaced by the Teatro Massimo Bellini which was opened in 1890 and named in Bellini's honour. After a month, Bellini and Florimo left for Palermo where, once again, there was a "royal welcome" and where he made the acquaintance of Filippo Santocanale and his wife. Although weather delayed their departure for Naples, they continued to spend an enjoyable time there, but Bellini was anxious to return to Naples before Easter and to be with Giuditta Turina, who had remained in that city. They reached Naples on 25 April where he was reunited with Turina. Upon his arrival, Bellini wrote to his new friend Santocanale in Palermo, telling him that he would be accepting a contract from La Fenice so the issue had resurfaced in the form of a contract from Lanari which appeared to have accepted the composer's terms. But he had forgotten how much he had demanded: writing to Giuditta Pasta's husband, Giuseppe, he asked for the letter he had written to him (in which he had revealed the terms offered) to be sent to him to await his arrival in Florence. When returning to Naples, the couple reached Rome on 30 April. There is speculation that, when there, Bellini composed a one-act opera, Il fu ed it sara (The Past and the Present) for a private performance (which was supposedly not given until 1832), but little further information—nor any of the music—has been forthcoming. It appears that the couple (along with Giuditta's brother) left for Florence on or around 20 May traveling by private coach and that he attended what he described as "a quite unrecognisable" performance of La sonnumbula at the Teatro della Pergola. In the