17 Teatro Olimpico

In 1580 the Accademia Olimpica initiated the construction of a theatre, which had been designed by one of its members, Andrea Palladio. However, in August of that year, the architect died without being able to see the results of his work.
After Palladio's death, Vincenzo Scamozzi, who had been invited to complete the work on the theatre, created a series of streets at the back of the stage (the seven streets of Thebes) originally designed for the inauguration of the theatre in 1585. The fascinating trompe-l'oeil extension has remained beyond the proscenium as an integral part of the stage since that time.
The Palladian design is a reconstruction of a Roman theatre. The work, indeed very precise from an archaeological point of view, was also inspired by a thorough study of Vitruvius' texts and the ruins of ancient theatrical buildings. In this sense it constitutes a sort of spiritual testament to the man who had designed it. With the Teatro Olimpico the theatre of the classical age was reborn. Throughout his entire professional life, Palladio had been seeking the laws underlying the secret harmony and the 'language' of classical architecture, with which, in this particular work, he attains a very high degree of consonance and identification.

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