[xmlgm {https://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/}]

The Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site listing of the city of Vicenza. It is part of a collection of buildings which were designed by renowned architect Andrea Palladio. I have already seen two buildings which were designed by him. The Teatro Olimpico seems to be one of the more impressive ones. The Teatro Olimpico is considered to be the oldest Renaissance theater. Even though it looks like an ancient Roman structure, this was built relatively recently at around five hundred years ago. The theater certainly takes inspiration from ancient Roman amphitheaters that dot the country. Visiting the theater allows you to better appreciate the details on the scaenae frons of the theater.

Since it is still in use. There isn’t a lot of imagination needed to understand how the thing works. The scaenae frons serves as the background of the performance and there stage is right there. There are other details apart from the scaenae frons and that is the ceiling itself. The ceiling is painted to look like a blue sky adding more realism to the set. Even the background behind the scaenae frons is done with a three dimensional look to it called trompe o’eil. This greatly adds depth and realism to the set piece. Looking at it from the front it looks really convincing. I have only seen this style in churches, it is interesting to see that style applied to theaters.

[xmlgm {https://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/TeatroOlimpico.kmz} zoom=19]