Scenografia e scenotecnica barocca tra Ferrara e Parma (1625-1631)

Based on unpublished manuscript sketches discovered in the archive of military engineer Pietro Paolo Floriani (1585–1638), Giuseppe Adami offers an in-depth reconstruction of early seventeenth-century theatrical staging and stage technology. The study focuses on the collaboration between Floriani and set designer Francesco Guitti (c. 1600–1640), analyzing five major theatrical events mounted in Ferrara and Parma between 1625 and 1631, including the renowned 1628 Farnese court festivities. By examining original hand-drawn plans rather than post-event celebratory prints, the monograph illuminates the technical mechanisms, stage machinery, and architectural transformations of venues like Ferrara's Teatro di San Lorenzo and Parma's Teatro della Pilotta. Crucially, the author contextualizes theatrical engineering within the broader framework of early modern military architecture and fortifications. This shared interdisciplinary expertise reveals how defense engineering directly influenced Baroque scenography, shedding new light on the hidden mechanics, professional networks, and illusionistic artifice that defined early Italian Baroque stagecraft.