Urban Space and Representation of Power

Ida Mauro

Urban Space and Representation of Power: The Neapolitan Festivals after the Revolt of Masaniello (1648-1672)

Authors

Ida Mauro

University of Barcelona

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8389-7236

Keywords:

Andrea Rubino, Baroque festivals, Political Communication, Neapolitan Early Modern History

Synopsis

Publisher: FedOA - Federico II University Press

Series: Clio. Essays in History, Archaeology and Art History

Pages: 436

Language: Italian

NBN: http://nbn.depositolegale.it/urn:nbn:it:unina-26309

Abstract: Starting from the unpublished chronicle of Andrea Rubino (Notitia di quanto è occorso in Napoli dal 1648 fino a tutto il 1669) and the numerous descriptions of ceremonies and festivals’ decorations that it describes, the present work deals with the issue of controlling Naples’ urban space in the years following the revolt of Masaniello (1647-1648). The book analyzes the "ceremonial policy" of five viceroys - from the Count of Oñate to Pedro Antonio de Aragón - flanked by that of the municipal government and the cathedral chapter, and highlights some instances of friction between the different ceremonials to show the polyphonic source of the main festive events.

The study integrates the analysis of different sources: the chronicles, the gazettes (in particular those preserved in Rome and Modena), the payments of Neapolitan public banks, the notary protocols, the consultations of the Consejo de Italia, the viceroys' viglietti, paintings and engravings and, of course, the festival books - handwritten and printed - intended to convey the discourse of festival. The latter, generally considered as main sources for the study of each ceremony, are properly contextualized by comparing and contrasting them with “less biased” forms of documentation.

The "obsequious tribute" offered through the festivals becomes a way for negotiating the exercise of power that acquires its visibility within the urban space, in which not only the great scenic festivals but also the simple ceremonies for the inauguration of public works were an important opportunity for representing consensus.

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Author Biography

Ida Mauro, University of Barcelona

Ida Mauro is lecturer of Early Modern History at the department of History and Archeology of the University of Barcelona. She has pursued her studies in both Spain and Italy, focusing on the circulation of works, artists and cultural practices between 16^th and 17^th centuries througout the territories of the Spanish Monarchy. In 2010 she received the PhD in History of Art from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. She got a post-doc fellowship in Early Modern History from the University of Barcelona in the period 2011-2014, devoting her post-doc research to cultural transfers flourishing in dioceses of patronato real of the Kingdom of Naples.

Among her publications are different articles regarding the acquisition of Neapolitan works of art by the viceroys, the festivals of the viceregal court of Naples and the patronage of the Spanish elites in seventeenth century Naples.