The reign of the two last Jagiellonian descendants Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus is called The Golden Age of Vilnius.
From that time on the city became a renaissance European capital competing even with Florence or Milan. Sigismund I the Old married the Italian Duchess Bona Sforza, and together with them an abundant Italian community settled in Vilnius.
Queen Bonna started introducing the customs of her homeland: from Italian music and cuisine to the art of political intrigue. The architecture of Vilnius acquired an Italian flavour that has survived to this day.
The capital was ravaged by fires, which destroyed both the castle and the Cathedral, so Sigismund I the Old took care of installing a water supply system in Vilnius. In 1536 the first bridge over the Neris (current Green Bridge) was built. A paper factory, a glass workshop, a cannon foundry, two hospitals, and the first printing house were established in the city.
Sigismund II Augustus rebuilt and furnished the Lower Castle of Vilnius in an immensely luxurious manner. It became a real centre of Renaissance culture: the palace had an excellent library, a picture gallery, a theatre and an orchestra. Masquerades and tournaments were held both in the palace and in the other parts of the city, scientific debates and literary evenings, celebrations and feasts were organised. The ruler had stables with two thousand horses and even something like a mini zoo: five bears, a lion and ten camels. A newly opened postal communication line Vilnius-Krakow-Vienna-Venice symbolized strong Lithuania's connection with Western Europe.
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