Coordinates: 31°24′41″N 46°24′26″E / 31.41139°N 46.40722°E / 31.41139; 46.40722

Lagash (Sumerian: Lagaš^ki; cuneiform logogram: 𒉢𒁓𒆷𒆠, [NU₁₁.BUR].LA^KI or [ŠIR.BUR].LA^KI, "storehouse;"Akkadian: Nakamtu; modern Tell al-Hiba, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq) is located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about 22 kilometres (14 mi) east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah. Lagash was one of the oldest cities of the Ancient Near East. The ancient site of Surghul/Nina is around 6 miles (9.7 km) away. Nearby Girsu, about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Al-Hiba, was the religious center of the Lagash state. Lagash's temple was E-Ninnu, dedicated to the god Ningirsu.

From inscriptions found at Girsu such as the Gudea cylinders, it appears that Lagash was an important Sumerian city in the late 3rd millennium BC. It was at that time ruled by independent kings, Ur-Nanshe (24th century BC) and his successors, who were engaged in contests with the Elamites on the east and the kings of "Kienĝir" and Kish on the north. Some of the earlier works from before the Akkadian conquest are also extremely interesting, in particular Eannatum's Stele of the Vultures and Entemena's great silver vase ornamented with Ningirsu's sacred animal Anzu: a lion-headed eagle with wings outspread, grasping a lion in each talon. With the Akkadian conquest Lagash lost its independence, its ruler or ensi becoming a vassal of Sargon of Akkad and his successors; but Lagash continued to be a city of much importance and above all, a centre of artistic development.

Silvio D'Amico (February 3, 1887 in Rome - April 1, 1955 in Rome) was an Italian theatre critic, journalist ,and theorist of Italian theater. Not a Fascist himself, D'Amico was the major theater critic during the ventennio, the twenty years (1922-1945) of Fascist rule in Italy. He was the first editor of the nine volume Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo (Encyclopedia of Performing Arts), published between 1954 and 1965, that covered theater, music, cinema, and dance. Most notably, he held an eminent position in theatrical study in Italy, giving his name to the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art in Rome, Italy's most prestigious drama school.

"What mass theater could be more authentic than that of the people gathered in Piazza Venezia, when Mussolini speaks from his balcony?" (S. D'Amico)

A Catholic, D'Amico was educated by Jesuits at Rome's Massimiliano Massimo Institute. After graduating in law in 1911, he was appointed to the Ministry of Education to the Directorate General for Antiquities and Fine Arts. In 1923, he became professor of theater history in the Royal School of Acting "Eleonora Duse." He met Duse when he was young and ambitious, a time when D'Amico wanted to create an Italian national theatre that produced works of young Italian playwrights.