The course proposes to offer a detailed overview of the spectacle of the Ancient Regime, starting with an analysis of the social, economic and more purely performing arts ‘presuppositions’ concerning the Mediaeval context and then focusing on the peculiarities of the Renaissance and Baroque, with particular attention to the Florentine Medici area. The various constituent elements of the theatrical phenomenon will be examined in depth, highlighting their close interrelation.
2. Luigi ALLEGRI, Teatro e spettacolo nel Medioevo (1988), Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2022 (parte I - Dal teatro alla teatralità; parte II - Dalla teatralità al teatro).
3. Paola VENTRONE, Teatro civile e sacra rappresentazione a Firenze nel Rinascimento, Firenze, Le Lettere, 2016 (only the Introduzione, pp. IX-XV / also available on «Drammatugia.it» magazine → http://drammaturgia.fupress.net/recensioni/recensione2.php?id=6527).
4. Sara MAMONE, Il teatro nella Firenze medicea, Milano, Mursia, 1981 (new edition: Firenze, Cue Press, 2018).
5. Sara MAMONE, Dèi, semidei, uomini. Lo spettacolo a Firenze tra neoplatonismo e realtà borghese (XV-XVII secolo), Roma, Bulzoni, 2003 (only chapters: L’invenzione del mito and Il terzo Seneca e l’Ercole rapito, pp. 69-80 and 81-105).
6. Siro FERRONE, La Commedia dell’Arte. Attrici e attori italiani in Europa (XVI-XVIII secolo), Torino, Einaudi, 2014 (only chapter: Prologo. I caratteri distintivi).
7. Renzo GUARDENTI, Teatro e arti figurative, in Il teatro e le arti. Un confronto fra linguaggi, ed. by Luigi Allegri, Roma, Carocci, 2017, pp. 43-92.
8. Stefano MAZZONI, Atlante iconografico. Spazi e forme dello spettacolo in occidente dal mondo antico a Wagner, new extended edition, Corazzano (Pisa), Titivillus, 2017 (reference work).
Learning Objectives
Knowledge and Understanding: completion of a generic education already acquired with basic knowledge of the history of theatre and its methodology.
Applying Knowledge and Understanding: investigation of the of the characteristics of Medieval and Renaissance spectacle, focusing on the passage from the widespread spectacle of the Middle Ages to the 'modern' type of spectacle in the Renaissance and later periods.
Making Judgements: acquisition of basic critical-analytical skills in the field of the history of Medieval and Renaissance spectacle. Development of interpretative and critical skills, both with regard to the sources for the history of medieval and Renaissance performance and to the contents and phenomena studied, always interpreted in relation to the historical, social and cultural context of the reference periodnto.
Communication Skills: knowledge and use of terminology specific to the history of spectacle, in particular the peculiarities of the technical and iconological language of the court and professional theatre production system for the centuries under investigation.
Learning Skills: acquisition of an suitable conceptual framework relating to historical-philological skills through the use of a broad spectrum of cognitive tools applied to the Medieval and Renaissance spectacle and the 16th-century genesis of theatre in the modern sense.
Prerequisites
The students who intend to attend the course and consequently take the final examination must have already acquired 6 CFUs in the disciplines of spectacle, thus possessing a preparatory preparation in this subject.
Teaching Methods
Face-to-face lectures: 36 hour. Viewing of multimedia material. The course uses the Moodle platform as a supplement to the multimedia content, in-depth materials and lecturer's communications.
Further information
Attendance is mandatory and will be verified.
Type of Assessment
The examination will consist of an oral test. During the interview, the candidate must prove that he/she has understood the fundamental concepts of the course and the reference bibliography and report on them with clarity and linguistic propriety.
Course program
1. Aristotle's 'Poetics': readings and interpretations; 2. The Roman world's criticism of the ludi; 3. Christian culture versus spectacle: from Tertullian to Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas; 4. The concept of widespread spectacle in the Middle Ages: the perfomer; 5. The sacred spectacle in Europe; 6. The spectacle of power: civil theatre and sacred representation in Florence during the Renaissance; 7. Dramaturgy in the 16th century: readings from Machiavelli's 'Mandragola'; 8. From place to theatre building: the dynastic events of the Medici family; 9. Florentine intermedi and the Medici macchineria; 10. The Commedia dell'Arte; 11. The theatre scene: Vitruvius, Brunelleschi, Alberti, Serlio; 12. Beyond Florence: from the Loggia Falconetto to the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza; 13. Document/Monument and the craft of the historian.