Like most Italian opera houses, the Teatro di San Carlo is built in a horseshoe shape. It has downstairs seats called stalls. There are six more levels of seats called box seats where groups of people can sit together. The box seats go all the way to the top of the opera house. Overall, there are 1386 seats in the Teatro di San Carlo today. The inside of the theatre has beautiful decorations in red and gold. A large painting by Giuseppe Cammarano covers the ceiling. The painting shows the Greek god Apollo and the goddess Minerva. All around them are famous poets.