'The book is clearly written and profusely illustrated (nearly two hundred images in black-and-white and color). This is clearly the definitive study of Renaissance and early Baroque theaters and should be on the reading lists not only of scholars and students in the fields of theater and architecture but also those of musicologists and historians concerned with the role of culture in early modern Italy.' Jonathan Glixon, Renaissance Quarterly
1. Ferrara and Mantua, 1486–1519; 2. Rome 1480s–1520; 3. Early theaters in Venice and the Veneto; 4. Sixteenth-century Florence, with excursions to Venice, Lyon and Siena; 5. Early permanent theaters and the commedia dell'arte; 6. Theaters in the ancient manner and Andrea Palladio; 7. Drama-Tourney theaters; 8. Ferrara, Parma, and theaters of Giovanni Battista Aleotti; 9. Seventeenth-century theaters in Venice: the invention of the opera house; 10. Seventeenth-century theaters for comedy and opera; 11. Teatro di Tordinona in Rome, Queen Christina of Sweden, and Carlo Fontana.