RENAISSANCE is a show that draws inspiration from the way man was looked upon and perceived in Italy and at some European courts between the end of the Middle Ages and the dawn of the modern age.

Homo faber ipsius fortunae, or “man is the maker of his own fortunes” reads an old Latin adage. It incorporates one of the most important novelties of the Renaissance – man believed it was time for him to take his life into his own hands. Unlike what happened in the Middle Ages, when he was just an accessory to a larger and pre-set cosmic game, the Renaissance man broke free of the shackles of Medieval asceticism to exalt freedom and an approach to life that celebrated concrete engagement. Though not denying the afterlife, the Renaissance man preferred the here and now, the hic et nunc, working to strike a balance between the physical and spiritual dimensions of his world. The medieval man put spiritual life first in his quest for salvation thus attaching little importance to his passage on earth.

The Middle Ages was a period dominated and conditioned by the Church and the Empire and it was perceived as a dark age when most of the population lived in a state of abysmal ignorance. Ignorance made people fall prey to a feeling of terror that amplified any moral and physical danger and threat that may have existed. Renaissance instead was a time of extraordinary cultural and artistic growth promoted by the signori. Man could prove his own skills – intelligence, creativity, sensitivity and the ability to ‘do things’.

Italian merchants would soon become bankers. If we think of the rise and spreading of merchant banks and their loan services especially in Florence, it is right to say that the precocious emergence of commercial capitalism in that period led the way to capitalism as we know it. Luxury and leisure time complemented it and were very beneficial for the arts. If we look at Italy’s cultural heritage, it is no surprise that Tuscany was bound to become the place where man would be reborn.

RENAISSANCE the show starts from the moment when the Medieval shackles are symbolically broken. It places man at the center of the universe promoting his own “rebirth”. The gifted men of the Renaissance can finally manifest a kaleidoscope of joys and pains, balance and folly, wisdom and foolishness, revealing the multiple facets of their behaviors (love, jealousy and betrayal). Music, dance, theater, literature, and painting are the key art forms of RENAISSANCE the show, whose plot is rich in great masterpieces by extraordinary artists like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Piero della Francesca, Machiavelli, Baldassarre Castiglione, Monsignor Della Casa, Claudio Monteverdi, Erasmo da Rotterdam, and Hans Holbein. It is also inspired by the accomplishments of Christopher Columbus, Federico da Montefeltro, Cosimo de’ Medici and his grandchild Lorenzo the Magnificent, not to mention the beauty of cities such as Florence (cradle of the Renaissance), Venice, Ferrara, Urbino, Siena, Padua, Perugia, Vicenza, Verona, Mantua, Milan and Naples.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages most of these cities lived through the growth of the signorie that marked the final stage in the evolution of the Italian city-state. Power was transferred into the hands of one man, the signore, whose moral standards or riches had won him the favor of kings, popes or emperors. Since personal prestige was also to be measured against the lord’s lifestyle and the splendor of his court, many of the signori became patrons of arts and letters to legitimize their recently acquired power and to rival in fame with their friends and foes.

Such a commitment generated a wide variety of cultural achievements: the Gonzagas built an extraordinary art collection, the Este court was famous for its patronage of the printing press, Federico da Montefeltro put together the remarkable library of Urbino, universities popped up across the peninsula, and Italian signori turned court ballet, a complex form of entertainment comprising theater and dance performances, into a most revered art expression.

Domenico da Piacenza, Guglielmo Ebreo da Pesaro, Antonio Cornazano, Cesare Negri, and Fabrizio Caroso da Sermoneta were the protagonists of the dance world at some of the most influential courts of the time and RENAISSANCE the show draws inspiration from their manuals: from De Arte saltandi et choreas ducendi to De praticha seu arte tripudii vulghare opusculum; from Libro dell'arte del danzare to Le Grazie d’Amore; and naturally Il Ballarino.

RENAISSANCE features four to six professional dancers, an actor, two musicians and a singer. Some of the music is pre-recorded.