From the torchlit equestrian ballets and the Medici’s naumachia in flooded gardens to the illuminated musical extravaganzas of Versailles, the great European gardens from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries were not merely landscapes of beauty but theatres of magnificence.

This lecture explores how rulers and patrons transformed gardens into living stages for allegory, politics, and performance. Through music, fireworks, waterworks, ephemeral architecture and dance, these fêtes created dazzling spectacles that celebrated dynastic power and divine order while momentarily uniting art, nature, and society in perfect harmony. Tracing the evolution of these events from the Medici villas to the court of Louis XIV, we will uncover how the garden became the ultimate expression of courtly splendour, a space where myth, art, and authority came to life beneath the open sky.

Join us for a virtual glass of Champagne for a single one-off lecture to celebrate that week in between Christmas and New Year, when no one knows what day it is!  

Sunday 28th December at 6pm.

Or buy the session for a friend or family member as the perfect seasonal antidote to board games and Christmas television; you can add a gift message during checkout.

Information

£25

A single Zoom lecture online 6pm to 7.30pm.

All our Zoom courses are recorded. A link will be sent out after the class and will be available until the end of January 2026.