Mantova, Teatro Olimpico

Sabbioneta is an "ideal town", which in the space of a few decades, from 1554 to 1591, was granted all those elements which in "real towns" is the result of centuries of diverse periods. It can be defined as being the work of just one man: Vespasiano Gonzaga (1531/91), a nobleman of the town. The design for the Teatro Olimpico (XVIth century) was entrusted to Vincenzo Scamozzi (Vicenza 1553-Venezia 1616), and represents his masterpiece. A disciple of Paladio, Scamozzi had already completed work on the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza following the death of the Master. Built between 1588 and 1590, the theatre is seen from the outside as a building of sober elegance because of the setting for its windows, its niches and pilasters. The inside has a rectangular plan, with wooden steps and a semi-circular loggia, composed of 12 columns, on top of which rest statues of the Gods. To the rear of the loggia, originally the place where the prince watched performances, the walls are frescoed with the figures of Roman emperors. On the walls are valuable frescoes by painters from the Veneto school, contemporary to the time of construction. The Teatro dell'Antica was, at that time, the third to be built in Italy after Vicenza and Parma, designed and carried out expressly for that function.