A legacy from Maria Theresa of Austria
This place has been home to academies since 1562. The first, the Accademia degli Invaghiti, also includes a small theatre where the melodrama of Orpheus by Claudio Monteverdi. Then, starting from 1610, the building became the seat of the Accademia Letteraria degli Invitti, renamed Accademia dei Timidi in 1648. With an edict of 1768 Maria Theresa of Austria established the “Royal Academy of Sciences and Fine Letters”, and eager to give new splendor to Mantua, she built the Academy Palace, which was completed in 1775.
Built by Joseph Piermarini The project was commissioned to architect Giuseppe Piermarini, four of whose original drawings are still preserved today at the Foligno Municipal Library. Piermarini created a neoclassical façade with tall Ionic pilasters and an imposing entablature, a style that was gaining popularity at the time and was gaining popularity among the Habsburgs. The Teatro Scientifico, on the other hand, was designed by Antonio Galli Bibiena, who completed a masterful project in just two years, a unique masterpiece that even left Mozart's father speechless.
