The Teatro Farnese was built (over what was once an arsenal) to celebrate the arrival in Parma of Cosimo II de' Medici in 1618. But it officially opened, with the show Mercurio e Marte (Mercury and Mars), a knights tournament, and a naval battle, on occasion of another event: the wedding between representatives of two of the most powerful families in Renaissance Italy, Margherita de' Medici and the Duke Odoardo Farnese.
The theater’s architecture is inspired by Greek and Latin designs, with a horseshoe shape and pews descending towards the proscenium and stage, below two rows of open balconies and arches. Its inside hides special theatrical innovations such as machines for transportation of actors from above, and a flooding system for naumachias (staging of naval battles). Alas, due to its size and especially its running costs, the theater was used for a grand total of nine shows.
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