The Medici theatrical mechanisms – The stage – Uffizi

The Uffizi: Teatro Mediceo

The architectural apparatus for the nuptials of Grand Duke Ferdinand I – 1589 –

The stage of the theatre prepared by Bernardo Buontalenti in the Teatro Mediceo at the Uffizi in Florence in 1589.

Project conceived and constructed by Ferdinando Ghelli – 1980.

Scale 1:25

An interpretive model of the stage decorated by Buontalenti with the movement of the second intermission of the play La Pellegrina by Girolamo Bargagli. Appearing at the centre of the scene, slowly rising from the floor of the stage, was Mount Parnassus surmounted by Pegasus, the winged horse. The technique adopted for this stunning apparition was that of a mechanism with several levels, extending like a telescope to stretch the draperies attached to it into the shape of a mountain.