Teatro Olimpico facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Teatro Olimpico

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Teatro Olimpico
Location	Vicenza, Province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy
Part of	City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
Criteria	Cultural: (i), (ii)
Inscription	1994 (18th Session)
Extensions	1996

The seating area, called the cavea. The columned area at the top hides a staircase. This staircase was the original entrance to the seats.

The Teatro Olimpico ("Olympic Theatre") is a very old and special theatre. It is located in Vicenza, a city in northern Italy. Builders started working on it in 1580, and it was finished in 1585.

This theatre was the last project designed by a famous Italian architect named Andrea Palladio. He died before it was completed. Inside, the stage has amazing scenery that looks like long streets stretching far away. This special scenery was designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi. It was put in place in 1585 for the very first show. This makes it the oldest stage set still existing today!

The back wall of the stage looks like an ancient Roman building. It is made from wood and stucco, which is a type of plaster, made to look like marble. The Teatro Olimpico was also the home of a group called the Accademia Olimpica, which started in 1555.

The Teatro Olimpico is one of only three Renaissance theatres still standing. The other two are the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta and the Teatro Farnese in Parma. These other theatres were largely inspired by the Teatro Olimpico. Today, the theatre is still used a few times each year for performances.

Since 1994, the Teatro Olimpico has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This means it is a very important place that is protected for everyone to enjoy. It is part of the "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto" site.

Building the Olympic Theatre

Andrea Palladio's Big Idea

The Teatro Olimpico was the very last project Andrea Palladio worked on. Many people consider it one of his greatest achievements. Palladio had returned to his hometown of Vicenza in 1579. He had spent his life studying ancient Roman buildings, especially Roman theatres. He knew more about them than almost anyone else alive.

Palladio had even drawn pictures for a book about Roman architecture. These drawings showed floor plans of Roman theatres. He also had ideas for how to rebuild old Roman theatres that were in ruins.

Palladio was one of the people who started the Olympic Academy (the Accademia Olimpica) in 1555. He had already designed temporary stages for plays in different parts of the city. One of his most famous temporary stages was built in a large hall of the Basilica Palladiana about 17 years earlier.

In 1579, the Academy got permission to build a permanent theatre. They chose an old fortress called the Castello del Territorio. This fortress had been used as a prison and a place to store gunpowder, but it was no longer in use. Palladio was asked to design the new theatre. Even though the old fortress had an odd shape, Palladio decided to use the space to create a theatre that looked just like the Roman ones he had studied. To fit the stage and seating area into the wide, shallow space, Palladio had to change the usual round Roman seating area into an oval shape.

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  A drawing showing a side view of the theatre (1776)

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  A drawing showing the theatre's floor plan (1776)

Vincenzo Scamozzi Finishes the Work

The entrance to the Teatro Olimpico courtyard. The old stone wall was there before the theatre. The arched entrance was designed by Scamozzi. It looks similar to the main arch inside the theatre.

Palladio died in August 1580, just six months after the theatre's construction began. However, the building continued using Palladio's drawings and plans. His son, Silla, took over the project for a short time. Soon, another important architect from Vicenza, Vincenzo Scamozzi, was asked to finish the theatre.

Scamozzi had also finished another big project that Palladio had started. This was a villa (a large country house) near Vicenza, now known as Villa Capra "La Rotonda". It shows how talented Scamozzi was that both these projects are now seen as some of Palladio's most successful works.

Scamozzi added several parts to the theatre. These include the Odèo and Antiodèo rooms. He also designed the entrance archway that leads from the street into the theatre's courtyard. This archway goes through an old medieval wall.

To make the archway fit with its surroundings, Scamozzi designed it to be the same size and shape as the main arch inside the theatre. This main arch is called the porta regia, or royal gate. However, the entrance archway was built with rough, textured stones. This made it look like it belonged with the old, worn medieval wall.

But Scamozzi's most famous and original idea for the theatre was his amazing stage set. It has incredible trompe-l'œil street views. Trompe-l'œil means "deceive the eye" in French. It's an art technique that makes flat objects look three-dimensional. Scamozzi not only designed these sets but also worked hard on the lighting. He made sure the pretend houses on the stage could be lit from inside. This made the illusion of real streets even stronger.

Designing the Amazing Scenery

A close-up view of the wood and plaster stage scenery. You can see the detailed streets through the main archway.

Palladio had left only one drawing of the stage's back wall, called the scaenae frons. He didn't leave any plans for what kind of scenery should be used on stage. His earlier drawings for a book showed perspective street views. These were similar to the ones later built in the Teatro Olimpico. However, his drawing for the theatre itself showed an empty space behind the main archway and side doors.

These oil lamps were designed by Scamozzi. They were used to light the houses along the imaginary streets for the very first play.

The simplest reason for no street scenes in Palladio's drawing is that the Academy didn't own the land needed for the scenery yet. They bought this land in 1582, after Scamozzi had taken over the project. This extra land allowed them to extend the building. It included a special curved area to fit the longest of the seven street views. The Academy asked the city for this land. They explained that if they got it, they would use the space to create "perspective views" for the theatre. They said this was "along the lines laid out by our colleague Palladio."

So, Palladio gets credit for inspiring the amazing perspective views. These views can be seen by the audience through the main archway of the stage's back wall. They can also be seen through the smaller openings on the sides. But Scamozzi was the brilliant mind who made them happen so successfully.

Scamozzi's stage set was the first time perspective views were used in a practical way in Renaissance theatre. The scenery has seven hallways. They are decorated to make it look like you are looking down city streets from ancient times. The ancient city of Thebes was the setting for the first play performed there.

These seven incredibly realistic trompe-l'œil views create the illusion of very long streets. In reality, the sets only go back a few meters. If you look at the theatre's floor plan, you can see how people sitting in different parts of the theatre could still see at least one of these perspective views.

Theatre History and Use

A view of the Odeon room

The theatre officially opened on March 3, 1585. The first play performed was Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, with music by Andrea Gabrielli. After only a few shows, the theatre was almost forgotten for a long time.

The scenery, made of wood and stucco for Oedipus Rex, was meant to look like the streets of Thebes. It was never taken down. Even after bombings and other challenges, these original sets have amazingly survived to modern times. The first lighting system, designed by Scamozzi, used glass oil lamps. This system made the illusion of space even better. However, it was only used a few times because it was very expensive and there was a risk of fire. Scamozzi's lighting system was used again in 1997 for another performance of Oedipus Rex.

The Teatro Olimpico is still used for plays and music today. However, only 400 people are allowed in the audience at a time. This is to help protect the old theatre. Performances happen during two seasons: classical plays in the autumn and a festival called Il Suono dell'Olimpico in the spring. The theatre does not have heating or air conditioning. This is because these systems could damage the delicate wooden structures.

The theatre has also been used as a location for movies. These include Don Giovanni (1979) and Casanova (2005). The Teatro Olimpico also hosts the awards ceremony for the Dedalo Minosse Prize. This is an international award for people who commission (or ask for) new buildings to be built.

For many years, Vicenza American High School used the theatre for their graduation ceremonies. This included the late 1970s and early 1980s. However, as the number of students graduating grew much larger, they stopped using the theatre for these events.

Other Early Theatres

Some people have mistakenly said that the Teatro Olimpico was the first theatre built specifically for performances in Europe in over a thousand years. But this is not true. The theatre was actually one of several new permanent theatres being built around that time. Records show that permanent theatres were built in other Italian cities. These include Ferrara (1531), Rome (1545), Mantua (1549), Bologna (1550), Siena (1561), and Venice (1565). Palladio himself designed the theatre in Venice.

How the Theatre Influenced Others

Over the centuries, many people have admired the Teatro Olimpico. However, not many theatres have copied its exact design. One expert said that the Teatro Olimpico was like a short pause in theatre design. Later theatres used a different style, with a frame around the stage (called a proscenium arch) and painted backdrops. Palladio's ideas are actually more like modern theatre, which focuses on how the audience connects with the action on stage.

Another expert noted that the fixed stage design of the Teatro Olimpico meant it couldn't develop further. The theatre was, in a way, limited by its creators' focus on being historically accurate to the Roman model. Once Palladio's idea of rebuilding an ancient Roman theatre was successfully completed, there was no longer a need to keep trying to recover the Roman past. It was then possible to start making new changes. This included getting rid of the fixed stage back wall and the unchanging perspective views.

The first theatre to be clearly inspired by the Teatro Olimpico was the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta. This theatre was designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi. Sometimes, it is also confusingly called the "Teatro Olimpico." Some of its design elements clearly come from the original theatre. These include the columns behind the seating area and the clear references to ancient Rome. However, the detailed scaenae frons is not in Sabbioneta. Also, there is only one perspective view, showing a single street, on the stage. The seating area is also very different from Palladio's oval plan. This might be because the building housing the theatre was much narrower.

The English architect Inigo Jones visited the Teatro Olimpico soon after it was finished. He took careful notes and especially admired the perspective views. He wrote that "wherever you sat you saw one of these Prospects..."

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