Teatro Olimpico, Vicenza

The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza is the oldest surviving covered theatre in the world and the final masterpiece of the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, who designed it in 1580 in the year of his death; it was completed by his pupil Vincenzo Scamozzi and inaugurated in 1585. Commissioned by the learned Accademia Olimpica, it was conceived as a permanent recreation of an ancient Roman theatre, with a semi-elliptical bank of stepped seating rising toward a colonnade topped by statues of academy members, and an elaborate carved-wood and stucco scaenae frons (stage front) modelled on classical precedent. The theatre's most astonishing feature is the fixed stage scenery built by Scamozzi for the opening performance of Sophocles' 'Oedipus Rex': seven receding streets of the mythical city of Thebes, constructed in steep forced perspective from wood and plaster so that they appear to stretch far into the distance though they are only a few metres deep. Visitors entering the auditorium take in the painted 'sky' ceiling, the statue-lined cornice, and the trompe-l'oeil streets in a single dramatic view; a visit takes about 45 minutes to an hour, often paired with the adjacent Odeo and antechambers decorated with frescoes. The theatre is part of Vicenza's museum circuit and a combined ticket also covers the Palladian Museum and other civic museums. As a delicate historic structure, it can only be entered as part of timed visits, and it is still used for a limited season of concerts and classical performances, when the perspective scenery is dramatically lit. Photography without flash is generally allowed. Located in central Vicenza, a UNESCO city of Palladian architecture in Italy's Veneto region, the Teatro Olimpico is an essential stop for anyone interested in Renaissance design and theatre history.