Teatro Olimpico Site Features

The perspective streets

Scamozzi's 1585 set, still standing. Look along each of the seven vistas in turn; the trick only fully registers when you notice how short they actually are.

The painted sky

A ceiling treated as open air over the seating, completing the illusion that this indoor room is an outdoor Roman theatre.

The statues of the Academy

The colonnade above the seating carries portrait statues of the Accademia Olimpica's own members -- the patrons put themselves in the building.

An unbroken 440-year run

Wood-and-plaster scenery built for one night in 1585, never dismantled. Its survival is as remarkable as its design.