New approaches to Naples, c.1500-c.1800: the power of place

Abstract

Early modern Naples has been characterised as a marginal, wild and exotic place on the fringes of the European world, and target of attempts, by Catholic missionaries and others, to 'civilise' the city. Historiographically bypassed in favour of Venice, Florence and Rome, Naples is frequently seen as an emblem of cultural and political decline in the Italian peninsula. Yet, as this volume makes plain, such views limit our understanding, not only of a key Mediterranean city, but also of the wider social, cultural and political aspects of early modern Europe. As the centre of Spanish colonial power within Europe during the Vicerealty, and with a population second only to Paris in early modern Europe, Naples is a city that deserves serious study on its own terms. Furthermore, as a Habsburg dominion, it offers vital points of comparison with non-European sites which were subject to European colonialism. For whilst European colonization outside Europe has received intense scholarly attention, its cultural impact and representation within Europe remain under-explored. In the sphere of the visual arts, too, closer investigation reveals that Neapolitan urbanism, architecture, painting and sculpture were of the highest quality during this period, although varying considerably from those of other Italian cities.