At the time of the Grand Dukes, in the courtyard of Palazzo Pitti, the most sumptuous society parties and theatrical performances took place. <\/p>\n\n
The marriage in 1589 between Ferdinando I Medici and Christine Lorraine, favourite niece of Catherine Queen of France, marked a turning point in the Medici policy of alliances. For this solemn occasion the festivities were to be memorable! <\/p>\n\n
To impress its prestigious guests, a naumachia was staged, which could be admired from the upper floors of the courtyard, which was transformed into a spectacular setting for a naval battle! But how did they do it? <\/p>\n\n
The sides were sealed with bitumen and the courtyard was filled with water to a height of almost 2 metres. <\/p>\n\n
In Livorno were specially built 18 ships, protagonists of the theatrical reconstruction of a real naval battle between Turks and Christians. <\/p>\n\n
The effect was amazing, also thanks to the suggestive pyrotechnics by Bernardo Buontalenti, the court architect famous for his technical devices including automata, merry-go-rounds and fireworks. For this reason he was also called Bernardo of the pinwheels!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At the time of the Grand Dukes, in the courtyard of Palazzo Pitti, the most sumptuous society parties and theatrical performances took place. The marriage in 1589 between Ferdinando I Medici and Christine Lorraine, favourite niece of Catherine Queen of France, marked a turning point in the Medici policy of alliances. For this solemn occasion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n