Royal festivals in mid-seventeenth century Naples

It is significant that the account of Philip Skippon’s journey to Naples in the spring of 1664 begins with a detailed description of a procession and the accompanying decorations: ‘silk carpets, hung out of the windows, and in the middle of the street was erected a handsome arch covered with gilt and painted cloth; within it was an altar, and opposite to it a chair of state for the viceroy’. ¹ Sources of seventeenth-century Neapolitan history (such as the avvisi or chronicles) ² focus on the amazement and awe inspired by the festivals held in the Neapolitan streets, churches and Royal Palace halls. One unpublished account in particular (the Notitia 1648–1669 compiled by Andrea Rubino) ³ offers an interesting account of the ceremonies and describes in great detail the decorations that transformed the city of Naples into an enormous theatre on the occasion of civic and court festivities. In the past four years, this prolific source of information has been used in research on Baroque celebrations in Naples. ⁴ However, this latter work has not researched the significance of the decorative images that were selected to communicate the discourse of the festivities, nor has it researched the process behind the creation of the festive decorations sponsored by the viceregal court (such as the stages of artistic development, the role of the artists, the reuse of the works of art, and the cooperation between the different artists). The objective of this brief work is to introduce these two themes: the significance of the decorative images and the particulars of their creation. It presents a preliminary insight into the complexity and richness of the symbolism used in the imagery for festive decorations in mid-seventeenth century Naples, and it expounds on the reasons such imagery was used. It also discusses the artists who created the decorations and their relationship to each other and the viceregal court in Naples.