Poggio a Caiano I's tennis court (1543) intact but no longer in use. The "palatoia" (as the court was referred to in Tuscany - elsewhere known as "pallacorda") was built for Cosimo I at the same time as his court at Palazzo Pitti. The "tennis" of the Italian Renaissance was hugely popular at court and in the streets as in France where the sport is known as "jeu de paume". "Real tennis" (as it is called today), which requires a customised court with elaborate interior playing surfaces, is the model for modern tennis although the sport played in the Renaissance continues to be
Hampton Court astronomical clock Hampton Court astronomical clock Hampton Court astronomical clock is a sixteenth-century astronomical clock in Hampton Court Palace. The clock was installed in 1540 on the gatehouse to the inner court at Hampton Court Palace. It was designed by Nicholas Crazter and made by Nicholas Oursian. This pre-Copernican and pre-Galilean astronomical clock is still functioning. The clock is in diameter with three separate copper dials revolving at different speeds and displays the following information: The latter information was of great importance to those visiting this Thames-side palace from London, as the preferred method of transport at the time was by barge,