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 Palace Flower Show making its rail services more profitable. Boyd's idea was that Network Southeast should sponsor a flower show at Hampton Court, and provide the public transport to Hampton Court railway station. At the time the RHS Shows Department was working on four new events for 1993, in Birmingham, Harrogate, Wembley, and Glasgow. In July 1990 the first Hampton Court Palace Flower Show was held. An effort was made to attract people to the show with special trains being laid from Waterloo Station, and porters wore carnations in their hats to create a buzz around the show. Even though there was comparatively