The house is named after the Sicilian-born composer Vincenzo Bellini, who is best known for his operas and who spent some time in the 1820s studying music in the city.

In addition, there in an opera house name after him, the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Sicily, his birthplace.

In 1864, Baron Nicola Lacapra Sabelli commissioned the theatre's creation by the architect Carlo Sorgente on Via Vincenzo Bellini.

This theatre, located near Piazza Dante Alighieri, burned down in 1869, and a new one was inaugurated a few hundred feet from the original locale.

In 1962, the Bellini hosted its final operatic spectacle with Masaniello, before being acquired in 1986 by a group led by local artist and producer Tato Russo.