ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between space, emotion and ephemeral spectacle in one part of Rome, the piazza di Spagna. It reconsiders the ephemeral events that took place there in the context of an understanding of public space that considers the social and emotional relations between groups. Power elites representing the nation states of France and Spain exerted their influence on the urban fabric of the city not simply by appropriating space but also by altering the daily pattern of peoples’ lives. Ephemeral spectacles in particular compelled locals to display their allegiance and loyalty in the form of the provision of lighting in their windows. In the emotional choice of whether to provide lighting for such events, lived space and ritual space collided with at times serious consequences for the inhabitants of the area.
