ABSTRACT
Public ritual in Florentine society between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was fundamental to creating a sense of identity for the community, and persuading it to conform to a political programme. The subsequent rise of Duke Cosimo then marked a fundamental shift towards extensive changes in the language and forms of spectacle, justified in terms of a claimed but specious continuity with the civic tradition. In the case of Florence, the ceremonial tribute laid on by the Medici regime for Pope Martin constituted an occasion of fundamental significance in the public life of the city. The 'handbook' was to contain a minute description of every festival occasion including the banquet, the procession and even the approximate cost, so as to establish suitable models for public reception. The book which emerged covers a time span that includes episodes personally experienced by Tongiarini himself, starting with the entry to Florence of the Emperor Charles V and Margaret of Austria in 1536.
