Party Like It's 1499: Court Culture and Spectacle in the Italian Renaissance

3 units

Coronations, marriages, visiting dignitaries, banquets, saints’ feast days – all were cause for celebration and spectacle in the Italian Renaissance. This course will explore the culture and festivals of Italian courts from c. 1400-1650. We will consider the major courts of Florence, Rome, and Venice, as well as the smaller yet thriving courts in cities such as Mantua and Ferrara. In addition to the art and architecture of courtly spaces, we will also examine drawings alongside written accounts of ephemeral decorations that no longer survive, commemorative medals, processional banners, relics and miraculous images, material culture objects associated with feasting and spectacle, and more.