Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga – founder of the small "ideal city" of Sabbioneta, near Mantua – summoned Vincenzo Scamozzi (1548-1616) from Vicenza to ask him to build what would become the Teatro all'Antica; he had perhaps noticed Scamozzi thanks to the onstage scenery he had created earlier for the beautiful and famous Olympic Theater in his hometown.

One of Scamozzi's contemporary biographers, based on the architect's notes, stated, "He left Venice on May 1, 1588, and arrived in Sabbioneta on the third day of the month, welcomed by the ministers with great honors. He saw the location and started to draw..."

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Source: http://www.italianways.com/