The stadium was inaugurated during the fascist era on 24 January 1932, and was originally named Stadio Littorio after the Italian word for the fasces symbol.

A third, and to date the most recent, modernisation of the stadium took place in 1990, due to city of Palermo having been chosen to host a number of the 1990 FIFA World Cup First Round matches.

On 18 September 2002 the stadium was officially renamed as Stadio Comunale Renzo Barbera, in honour of the chairman of Palermo during the club's last Serie A tenure, as well as the two Coppa Italia finals throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, who had died that same year on 19 May.

[3][4] In the Serie A 2004–05 campaign, which marked Palermo's first appearance in the top division for over 30 years, all seats in the stadium were already sold before the season began to season-ticket holders.

Starting in the 1990s, however, concerts and other cultural events were gradually banned from the stadium due to fears they could damage the grass on the field.

Zappa was reported as stating "We played for an hour and a half with tear-gas in our face and everything else, and when it was all over we went off stage and we were trapped inside this place.