Representing the King's Splendour: Communication and Reception of Symbolic Forms of Power in Viceregal Naples

(Hardback)

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Description

Compensating for a general neglect of Iberian civilization in Southern Italy, this book seeks to shed light on the viceregal court of Spanish Naples in the seventeenth century, a time when this European metropolis reached the zenith of its splendour. It looks at the cultural projection of Spain and its values, either via the direct visual representations of power of the viceregal court, or the public policies and actions that fostered Spanish attitudes. It explores cultural and social manifestations as court ceremonial, state festivities, and fashion. Each of these issues also takes into account the social and political structure of the city, and the various pressure groups that interacted with the Spanish government. Aimed at students and scholars of early modern Europe, the Spanish Empire, and the princely courts of Europe, this study will also be of interest to scholars of communication and cultural studies, and to readers interested in cultural history during the Baroque era. -- .

Reviews

The book has many overall merits: it examines topics and materials that have received limited attention by historians, and effectively contextualizes them within broader trends and issues of early modern political culture...(Guarino) persuasively analyzes the difficulties inherent in the viceroy's status...The book will be of great interest to scholars of early modern political culture and ritual, and of early modern Europe in general.
Tommaso Astarita, Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Volume 17, Issue 2, 2012

Guarinos goals are achieved, in placing the visual court culture of Viceregal Naples in context of events and cultural shifts of the period, and in particular, by looking at the mostly positive reception of Spanish culture by the people of Naples . . . One of the chief strengths of this book is its clarity. Guarino is adept at setting up each chapter, and linking from section to section. . . "Representing the Kings Splendour" is a useful and deeply thought through study, making use of an impressive variety of printed sources.
Erebea, 2 (2012) [issn: 0214-0691] pp. 421-424.

Author Bio

Gabriel Guarino is Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Ulster