A Note on the Early Theatrical Activities of Ferdinando Bibiena

Abstract

For those interested in the activities of those great Italian theatre artists, the Bibiena family, the early work of Ferdinando, founder of this prestigious group of stage designers and theatre architects, is still not fully documented. Although Ferdinando was identified as “Pittore di Corte” to the Farnese Dukes of Parma between 1680 and 1708 by Giampetro Zannotti, his first biographer in 1739, information concerning his early theatrical activities is still meager. It is generally assumed that Ferdinando began his theatrical career with his work for the Farnese wedding festival in Parma in 1690.