Teatro di Antonio Bibiena

The so called Bibiena Theatre was initially the location for internal meetings of the Academia, a cultural gathering of fundamental importance established at the time of the Gonzaga with the name Accademia Degli Invaghiti and recognised by the Pope in 1564. It took the form of an elitist university qualified to give degrees in every discipline. The building in which the Academia was located was originally owned by Ferrante Gonzaga, a soldier of Charles V, second son of Francesco and Isabella d’Este. The buildings went through a series of transformations, and already in the first part of its life it hosted a theatre used by the academics. It is however uncertain whether plays were actually staged here at the time. In the seventeenth century the Academia changed its name many times, being first named after the Invitti and later after the Timidi.