Nel palazzo dei signori. Oggetti esotici e stravaganze nelle corti meridionali del Quattrocento [In the palace of the lords. Exotic objects and extravagances in the southern Italy courts of the 15th Century]

Abstract

The essay investigates the presence of exotic, valuable, rare and often bizarre objects in the noble courts of the fifteenth-century South, with the aim of assessing the degree of diffusion of foreign artefacts among the wealthy classes, but also in the regional and local market circuits. In particular, some inventories of the Apulian area will be examined, belonging both to exponents of ecclesiastical feudality, such as the bishop of Otranto, Nicola Pagano, and to leading figures of the southern baronage, such as the count of Ugento, Angilberto del Balzo, son-in-law of powerful prince of Taranto and known above all for his involvement in the great conspiracy of 1485. Through the detailed description of a wide range of objects (books, jewels, crockery, tapestries, clothes, kit items, various accessories or other), with the indication of the material and the origin, it will be possible to offer a contribution to the reconstruction of the dynamics economic-commercial that fueled the circulation in Southern Italy of manufactured products from outside the Kingdom (Venice, Vicenza, Verona, Florence.) and internationally (Catalan, Parisian, Dutch, Balkan, Turkish, etc.). The same objects will also allow you to get an idea of the orientation of tastes and preferences, the dictates of fashion, the cultural suggestions, style and mentality of the time.

Keywords

• southern italy
• late middle ages
• noble palaces
• exotic and extravagant objects
• history of arts
• arts
• italy