ABSTRACT
This chapter studies the organization of performances given between 1656 and 1661 at the new theatre of the grand dukes’ court of Tuscany, the Pergola theatre, built between 1652 and 1656. Shows – feste teatrali for formal occasions and drammi civili for carnivals – were managed and funded by the Academy of Immobili led by Cardinal Giovan Carlo of Tuscany, according to a model which had been tried and tested at the court of Florence. However, the very extensive documentation available on stage costumes reveals that members of the Academy played a wide part in production and funding, by seeking the collaboration of recognized artists such as Stefano della Bella.
