Zammar, Leila (2017) Scenography at the Barberini court in Rome : 1628-1656. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to shed light on the development of scenography at the Barberini court in Rome during the period 1628-1656, filling a gap in the study of the staging of performances in this city during the seventeenth century. Differently from the performances staged in other contemporary courts, the spectacles staged by the Barberini (nearly all of them at the Palazzo alle Quattro Fontane) have been discussed mainly from a musicological perspective and have been little investigated from a theatrical point of view. This thesis shows that members of the Barberini family played a key role in the development of staging techniques and theatrical devices in Rome, using dramatic productions in order to advance and consolidate their power. It also gives special attention to the development of scenographic techniques in Rome in the first half of the seventeenth century.

The discussion makes use of a wide range of primary sources, including reports, avvisi, letters, engravings, and contemporary manuals of scenography and theatrical sketches. Most notable are the rich archival resources of the Vatican Library, especially the payment records (giustificazioni) that shed light on people hired and materials employed for the various spectacles. A selection of these documents is transcribed and made available for the first time in the Appendix.

Since the impressive development of scenography at the Barberini court was achieved thanks to the collaboration of numerous artists and artisans, either belonging to the Barberini entourage or engaged from other courts, their contribution also forms part of the discussion.

The thesis includes computer-aided reconstructions of stage plans for several of the spectacles investigated. These provide a methodological tool for clarifying the hypotheses proposed, consisting in the graphic representation of the scenographic elements of the performances analysed.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN2000 Dramatic representation. The Theater
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Barberini family, Palazzo Barberini (Rome, Italy), Theaters -- Stage-setting and scenery -- Italy -- Rome -- History -- 17th century, Theater -- Political aspects -- Italy -- Rome -- History -- 17th century, Theater and society -- Italy -- Rome -- History -- 17th century
Official Date:	2017
Dates:	Date Event 2017 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for the Study of the Renaissance
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Lines, David A. ; Shewring, Margaret
Sponsors:	Italy. Ministero dell’istruzione, dell’università e della ricerca
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	344 leaves : illustrations
Language:	eng

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