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Bernardo Buontalenti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernardo Buontalenti, byname of Bernardo Delle Girandole (1536? - June 25 or 26, 1608) was an Italian Mannerist stage designer, theatre architect, military engineer and painter.
Buontalenti was born in Florence.
He entered the service of the Medici as a youth and remained with them the rest of his life. In 1562 he travelled to Spain. 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, the decoration of Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens with the famous grotto, as well as the Parco di Pratolino of which little remains today, except for the giant sculpture portraying the Colossus of the Apennines (by Giambologna). Buontalenti's skills as a military engineer are shown by the fortifications of the port of Livorno, the Forte di Belvedere in Florence, the city walls of Pistoia, Grosseto, Prato, Portoferraio, Elba and Naples; he also perfected designs for cannons, and devised a new type of incendiary grenade.
In the Uffizi Palace of Florence, he built a great court stage, where, during the winter of 1585–86, splendid festivities were produced under his direction. He designed costumes for the Medici extravaganzas.
Despite his successes, his prodigality led Buontalenti to financial ruin; he survived in his late life thanks to a pension given him by the Grand Duke of Tuscany.