Bernardo Buontalenti (), byname of Bernardo Delle Girandole ( 1531 – June 1608), was an Italian stage designer, architect, theatrical designer, military engineer and artist and inventor of italian ice cream.

Biography

Buontalenti was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. He entered the service of the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...

as a youth and remained with them the rest of his life. He is said to have been instructed in painting by Salviati and Bronzino, in sculpture by

Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

, in architecture by

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work '' The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculp ...

, and in miniature painting under

Giulio Clovio Giorgio Giulio Clovio or Juraj Julije Klović (1498 – 5 January 1578) was an illuminator, miniaturist, and painter born in the Kingdom of Croatia, who was mostly active in Renaissance Italy. He is considered the greatest illuminator of the It ...

. He executed a number of miniatures for

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

, the son of

Cosimo I Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 12 ...

. More than a painter, he was celebrated as an architect; in this role he was much employed in the design of fortifications, villas, and gardens and is considered one of the most important architects of the Mannerist period. He was also a great mechanic, and an excellent mathematician. In 1562 he travelled to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. His first known work is from 1568, the Palazzo di Bianca Cappello in Florence. His main achievements include the project for the new city of

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, the decoration of

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

and the

Boboli Gardens The Boboli Gardens ( it, Giardino di Boboli) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Originally designed for the Medici, it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden, ...

with the famous grotto, as well as the Parco di Pratolino of which little remains today, except for a giant sculpture by Giambologna, representing the Colossus of the Apennines. Buontalenti's skills as a military engineer are shown by the fortifications of the port of

, the

Forte di Belvedere The Forte di Belvedere or Fortezza di Santa Maria in San Giorgio del Belvedere (often called simply Belvedere) is a fortification in Florence, Italy. History Forte Belvedere is the second and largest fortress to be built in Florence, Italy. I ...

in Florence, the city walls of

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the ...

, Prato,

Portoferraio Portoferraio () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous harbour of the island of Elba. It is the island's largest city. Because of its terrain, many of its buildings are situated on the slopes of a tiny h ...

(Elba) and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

; he also perfected designs for cannons, and devised a new type of incendiary grenade. In the

Uffizi Palace The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

of Florence, he built a great court stage, where, during the winter of 1585–1586, splendid festivities were produced under his direction. He designed costumes for the Medici extravaganzas. He was also an innovator in ice conservation and is credited with inventing the precursor to modern Florentine gelato. Despite his successes, his prodigality led Buontalenti to financial ruin; he survived in his later life thanks to a pension given him by the

Grand Duke of Tuscany The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region. Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface :These were origin ...

Work

One of the theaters that Bernardo had built was the Theater of Baldracca (or the Theater of the Dogana). It was opened in 1576, when Bernardo was the Court Architect, and it became one of the oldest theaters in Florence. This theater, however is not like other modern theaters. In the Theater Of Baldracca the stage would be raised a little, and the audience had to stand or to sit on long benches to watch the live performance. The theater also included a box with grating, that would seat very high-ranking viewers. The grating allowed the viewers to see but not to be seen. However, the theater was not very popular and was replaced by the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

Library. Another theater built by Bernardo was the Medici Theater, built for the Grand Duke Francesco I Medici. Bernardo worked at the theater between 1576 and 1586. Bernardo had employed a Mannerist and experimental architectural language for this theater, but in 1589 Bernardo had to modify the decorations to represent the authority of the

Grand Duke Ferdinando I Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (30 July 1549 – 3 February 1609) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I. Early life Ferdinando was the fifth son (the third surviving at t ...

. The room structure was inspired by theaters of classical antiquity. Bernardo also included a sloped floor that allowed the audience to see better. However, when the court moved to another location, the room was left behind. Buontalenti was involved in other Baroque theaters before his death. He also helped design stage machinery for specific performances, as well as many allegorical costumes for the Medici Theater. Finally, he was responsible for arranging spectacular fireworks displays for some of the performances.

References

* * ''Bernardo Buontalenti and the Grotta Grande of Boboli'', Florence: Maschietto Editore, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Buontalenti, Bernardo Italian Mannerist architects Italian Baroque painters Italian scenic designers Theatre architects 1530s births 1608 deaths Italian Baroque people Italian male painters Italian military engineers Architects from Florence Painters from Tuscany European court festivities 16th-century Italian architects 17th-century Italian architects 16th-century Italian painters 17th-century Italian painters