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Teatro Olimpico & Accademia Olimpica, Vicenza, Vicenza, Veneto, Italy
Teatro Olimpico
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatro_Olimpico
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accademia_Olimpica
The Teatro Olimpico ("Olympic Theatre") is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy, constructed in 1580–1585. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and was not completed until after his death. The trompe-l'œil onstage scenery, designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi, to give the appearance of long streets receding to a distant horizon, was installed in 1585 for the first performance held in the theatre, and is the oldest surviving stage set still in existence. The full Roman-style scaenae frons back screen across the stage is made from wood and stucco imitating marble. It was the home of the Accademia Olimpica, which was founded there in 1555.
The Teatro Olimpico was possible by the contributions collected from the wealthiest academics, belonging to the main noble families of Vicenza including Trissino, Bissari, Trento, Valmarana.
The Teatro Olimpico is, along with the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta and the Teatro Farnese in Parma, one of only three Renaissance theatres remaining in existence. Both these theatres were based, in large measure, on the Teatro Olimpico. It is still used several times a year.
Since 1994 the Teatro Olimpico, together with other Palladian buildings in and around Vicenza, has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".
Accademia Olimpica
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accademia_Olimpica
The Accademia Olimpica is an ancient cultural institution in Vicenza , founded in 1555 by a group of intellectuals, including the architect Andrea Palladio . It is dedicated to the promotion "through publications, sessions, celebrations, teaching courses and various events of literary, historical, philosophical, scientific, technical, juridical, economic, sociological, administrative studies and artistic activities, with special regard to culture, artistic life and to the progress of the city of Vicenza and its historical territory”
The Accademia Olimpica is located in the building annexed to the Teatro Olimpico.
Marble plaque with the names of the Olympic Academic benefactors who contributed to the foundation of the Theater, placed inside it in 1608 by Pompeo Trissino.
The promoters of the foundation of the Olympic Academy were the nobleman Valerio Chiericati and Girolamo da Schio; the 21 founding citizens also included Anton Maria Angiolelli, Count Da Monte, Giacomo Pagello, Giuseppe Ovetari, Elio Belli and the mathematician and engineer Silvio Belli, the architect Andrea Palladio, Bernardino Trinagio, Vincenzo Magrè, soon joined by the painters Antonio Fasolo and Giovanni Battista Maganza
In the first half of the 19th century, the activity of the Academy languished, until the entry of personalities linked to the nascent Italian Risorgimento, when the initiatives multiplied again: in 1857 with the Meteorico Observatory (meteorological) and in 1858 with the School of drawing and sculpture, thanks also to the succession of famous and active presidents of the Academy, such as Fedele Lampertico, Giacomo Zanella, Antonio Fogazzaro, Almerico da Schio.
Accademia presidents since 1840
- 1840-1844 Camillo Franco
- 1844-1845 Ambrogio Fusinieri
- 1845-1851 Valentino Pasini
- 1851-1870 Francesco Secondo Beggiato
- 1870-1883 Fedele Lampertico
- 1883-1890 Giacomo Zanella
- 1890-1896 Antonio Fogazzaro
- 1896-1897 Paolo Lioy
- 1897-1930 Almerico da Schio
- 1930-1933 Giulio Tozzi
- 1933-1937 Giuseppe Vaccari
- 1937-1946 Antonio Mosconi
- 1946-1948 Ascanio Pagello
- 1948-1949 Antonio Mosconi
- 1949-1959 Egidio Tosato
- 1959-1990 Mariano Rumour
- 1990-1991 Giorgio Oliva
- 1991-1995 Alessandro Faedo
- 1995-2003Lorenzo Pellizzari
- 2003-2011 Fernando Bandini
- 2011-2015 Luigi Franco Bottio
- 2015-2016 Marino Breganze
- 2016-2022 Gaetano Thiene
- 2022- . . . . Giovanni Luigi Fontana
Home page https://www.accademiaolimpica.it/
Design and construction
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatro_Olimpico for:
- Palladio's vision
- Scamozzi takes over
- Design and construction of the scenery
History
The theatre was inaugurated on 3 March 1585 with a production of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex.[6] However, the theatre was virtually abandoned after only a few productions. The scenes, which had been created in wood and stucco for Oedipus Rex, and which were meant to represent the streets of Thebes, were never removed: despite bombings and other vicissitudes, they have miraculously preserved into modern times. The original lighting system of glass oil lamps, designed by Scamozzi, heightened the illusion of space, has been used only a few times because of the high cost and the risk of fire. Scamozzi's lighting system was used when, in 1997, the theatre was again employed for a production of Oedipus Rex.
The Teatro Olimpico is still used for plays and musical performances, but audience sizes are limited to 400, for conservation reasons. Performances take place in two theatre seasons:classical plays in the autumn and the festival Il Suono dell'Olimpico in the spring. It is not equipped with heating or air conditioning, which could damage the delicate wooden structures.
The Theatre has been used as a filming location for films such as Don Giovanni (1979) and Casanova (2005).
The Teatro Olimpico hosts the awards ceremony of Dedalo Minosse International Prize for commissioning a building.
Vicenza American High School, a military base located on Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, on occasions used the theater for commencement exercises for the graduating classes for a number of years, including, but not limited to the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, as class sizes significantly increased, they have stopped using the theater for graduation ceremonies.
Precursors
Some authors have incorrectly stated that when the Teatro Olimpico was constructed in 1580–85, it was the first purpose-built theatre in Europe in over a thousand years.[7] In reality, the theatre was one of a number of new permanent theatres being constructed at the time. Records show that permanent theatres were constructed in Ferrara (1531), Rome (1545), Mantua (1549), Bologna (1550), Siena (1561), and Venice (1565). This last theatre was designed by Palladio himself, for the Compagnia della Calza.[8]
Influence
Over the centuries, the Teatro Olimpico has had many admirers, but relatively few imitators. One critic has observed: "In the history of theatre design, the Teatro Olimpico was a temporary hiatus, for succeeding generations adopted the proscenium arch and painterly stage sets. Palladio's ideas are closer to the spirit of the modern theatre, which favors the relationship of audience to action."[9] Another notes: "The rigid form of the scenic arrangements of the Teatro Olimpico [...] precluded any further development," and that the theatre was, in a sense, a prisoner of its creators' emphasis on "considerations of archaeology" and truthfulness to the Roman model.[10] The successful completion of Palladio's experiment in reconstructing the ancient model meant that there was no longer any need to pursue the objective of recovering the Roman past; it was now possible to start making innovations, starting with eliminating the rigid and unchangeable scaenae frons and the unchanging perspective views.
The first theatre to draw inspiration from the Teatro Olimpico, and the one in which its influence is the most obvious, is the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta. This theatre, which was designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi, is sometimes also referred to, somewhat confusingly, as the "Teatro Olimpico",[11] and some of its design elements, including most notably the colonnade behind the seating area and the self-conscious references to ancient Rome, are clearly drawn from the original Teatro Olimpico. However, the elaborate scaenae frons is absent in Sabbioneta, and only a single perspective view, along a single street, is employed onstage. As well, the seating area departs radically from Palladio's elliptical plan (perhaps as a result of the much narrower shape of the building in which the theatre is housed).
The English architect Inigo Jones visited the Teatro Olimpico shortly after its completion, and took careful notes, in which he expressed particular admiration for the perspective views: "[T]he chief artifice was that whear so ever you sat you saw one of thes Prospects..