Beyond the Palio: Urbanism and Ritual in Renaissance Siena

Beyond the Palio is an interdisciplinary collection of essays documenting the ritual events and ceremonies of Renaissance Siena. In the past, scholarly accounts of the ceremonies that took place during Siena’s early modern history have been overshadowed by its most well–known and most studied event, the Palio; a dramatic horse race staged on the city’s central square. In this volume, each essay assumes the focus of the role of ritual events viewed in an urban context. Common themes addressed, such as the use of public space, the inclusive and exclusiveness of participants, ephemera produced for events, and the implications of ceremonial practice, explore the different components, and the importance, of ritual life within the context of the Italian Renaissance.

1. Introduction: Beyond the Palio: Urbanism and Ritual in Renaissance Siena: Philippa Jackson and Fabrizio Nevola. 2. ‘Sotto uno Baldachino Trionfale’: the Ritual Significance of the Painted Canopy in Simone Martini’s Maestà: Diana Norman. 3. Enter the Emperor: Charles IV and Siena between Politics, Diplomacy and Ritual (1355 and 1368): Gerrit Schenk. 4. Altars on the Street: The Arte della Lana, the Carmelites and the Feast of Corpus Domini in Siena 1356–1456: Machtelt Israëls. 5. Ritual Geography: Housing the Papal Court of Pius II Piccolomini in Siena (1459–60): Fabrizio Nevola. 6. Peace–making Rituals in Fifteenth–Century Siena: Christine Shaw. 7. Pomp or Piety? The Funeral of Pandolfo Petrucci: Philippa Jackson. 8. The Rise of the New Civic Ritual of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin in 16th Century Siena: Mauro Mussolin.

Philippa Jackson is completing research at the Warburg Institute in London on the patronage of Pandolfo Petrucci, the leading citizen of the Sienese republic at the beginning of the sixteenth century. She has written on the cult of Mary Magdalen under his regime and is currently preparing a book entitled Pandolfo Petrucci: Politics and Patronage in Renaissance Siena . Her major interests are in Renaissance cultural history and cardinals of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Fabrizio Nevola teaches at the Università degli Studi di Siena. He has held fellowships at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (Montreal) and Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies (Florence) and was AHRB Research Fellow at the University of Warwick (2001–4). His research focus is on the architectural and urban history of Renaissance Siena. He has published numerous articles (e.g. Art Bulletin , 2000 and Renaissance Studies , 2003) and has a book forthcoming entitled Architecture and Government in Renaissance Siena: Fashioning Urban Experience (1400–1555).

"The book is better focused than the average set or conference papers. It is well illustrated." (The Journals of Early Modern Studies, Summer 2010) "This book is the first modern collection of essays in English to look at civic ritual in the city of Siena and it presents a refreshingly theorized approach to how the Sienese used public performances and the collective memories of space and history to structure the urban polity. The volume is a watershed accomplishment, marking – finally – a renaissance of scholarly interest and debate on this fascinating city. One could not have asked for a more coherent, engaged, and informed group of essays to rekindle interest in Siena among both the academic community and the public at large." John T. Paoletti, Kenan Professor of the Humanities, Art and Art History Department, Wesleyan University