• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: THE PALIO IN ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ART, THOUGHT, AND CULTURE Elizabeth MacKenzie Tobey, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Anthony Colantuono, Associate Professor of Art History. University of Maryland. The palio race commemorates the history of Italian cities as it has done so since the late Middle Ages. Despite its cultural significance, and the popularity of ritual topics in Renaissance scholarship, there exists no comparable art historical study of the palio. In the thirteenth century, the proliferation of feast days in Italian cities coincided with growth in population and commerce. The palio race was the culminating, profane event in a series of sacred offerings and processions, in which representatives of the city’s religious and political groups participated. The palio may have descended from the chariot races held in Roman Italy for pagan festivals. The city government organized and paid for the palio. In Siena, the participation of the contrade (neighborhood groups) in the palio helped to preserve the tradition in the face of Florentine rule. Italian cities, including Florence, were highly regarded for their silk fabrics. Cities commissioned the largest and most opulent palio banners for the patronal feasts. Making the banner was a collaborative effort, involving the craftsmanship of banner- makers, furriers, painters, and even nuns. During religious processions, the banner was paraded through the city on a carro trionfale (triumphal chariot or cart), reminiscent of the vexillum, a cloth military standard used in triumphs of Roman antiquity. The palio banner challenges preconceptions of how Renaissance society valued art objects. The cost of making the banner equaled or exceeded payments for panel paintings or frescoes by well-known artists. Following the feast day, it was worth only the value of its materials, which were recycled or sold. Noble and ruling families competed against each other through their prize horses. These families imported the animals from North Africa and Ottoman Turkey, and gave them as diplomatic gifts. The trade in horses, like the textile trade, was part of an international commerce that brought countries and cultures together. Equestrian culture flowered during the Renaissance, in which horses began to be seen as individuals possessing admirable, even human, qualities. Palio horses achieved a level of fame parallel to the racing champions of the modern era, and were portrayed in paintings, prose, and verse. THE PALIO IN ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ART, THOUGHT, AND CULTURE by Elizabeth MacKenzie Tobey Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2005 Advisory Committee: Professor Anthony Colantuono, Chair Professor Pia Cuneo Professor Giuseppe Falvo Professor Mary Garrard Professor Marie Spiro ©Copyright by Elizabeth MacKenzie Tobey 2005 ii I dedicate this study on the palio to my parents Philip and Solace Tobey in this year, 2005, the fortieth year of their marriage iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Just as the making of a palio banner involved many hands, my dissertation could not have been completed without the help of many individuals and institutions, to whom I am very grateful. I thank the members of my dissertation committee. My advisor, Dr. Anthony Colantuono, an incredible teacher and scholar, has given me insightful advice and support over the years, and has been an enthusiastic supporter from the start of my research topic and interests. I had the privilege of taking three courses with Dr. Marie Spiro during my graduate training, and have tried to follow her wise words to always “look at the image.” Dr. Mary Garrard of American University answered my letter about Artemisia Gentileschi years ago when I had just graduated from high school, and I am privileged and honored to now have her on my dissertation committee. And I also thank Dr. Pia Cuneo of the University of Arizona, fellow “equischolar” and rider, for coming all this way for my defense, and for helping to get me involved in scholarly projects pertaining to the horse in Renaissance and early modern Europe. Dr. Giuseppe Falvo of the Italian Department has very kindly agreed to serve as my Dean’s Committee representative. Many present and former members of the Department of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Maryland have provided me guidance over the years. Graduate Director Sally Promey was enormously helpful in answering questions about Graduate School requirements. I also thank Quint Gregory and Lauree Sails of the Visual Resource Center, former fellow graduate students, for their technical expertise and sense of humor over the years. Former faculty member, Dr. Sandy Kita, urged me years ago to continue with my graduate studies, and I will always regard him highly as a iv mentor and teacher. Former staff member Beth Lingg, who shares my love of horses and who fills me in on the progress of her brother Norman’s beautiful Belgian draft horses, has kept in touch over the years and always sends me interesting articles pertaining to horse racing. Lastly, I pause to thank and remember Kathy Canavan, who left us all much too soon. She was the “rock” for everyone in the Department, and I miss her presence greatly. My employers during my time as a graduate assistant facilitated my ability to finish my studies. I have enjoyed immensely working on the College of Education History Project, and thank my supervisor Deborah Hudson for this wonderful opportunity, and for time off in the last final push to get my draft ready. My bosses at my former job at MITH (the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities) permitted me to take six weeks off last winter so that I could do my archival research, without my having to worry about finding a new job upon my return. The Classics Department employed me for several years as a computing assistant, and I appreciate their support and enthusiasm, and thank Dr. Lillian Doherty for staying in touch. The two research trips to Italy that I undertook in winter and fall 2004 were helped greatly by the following individuals. Dr. Senio Sensi, Head of the Commission on Images for the Consorzio per la Tutela del Palio di Siena, arranged for me to visit the museums and oratories of the contrada, including a personal tour of the Oca contrada oratory. Dr. Armando Santini, Archivist of the Onda, was of great assistance in informing me and getting me copies of the recently-transcribed and published sixteenth and seventeenth-century book of deliberations of his contrada, an incomparable primary source that has greatly deepened my understanding of the history of the palio. Francesco v Fusi of the Torre contrada and Michela Rossi of the Selva contrada kindly permitted me to tour and photograph objects in their respective contrada museums. The staffs at the Archivio di Stato in Siena and the Biblioteca Comunale were especially friendly and helpful in providing me access to the archival documents, manuscripts, rare books, and prints that proved essential to my research. Antonio Tasso, Head of Cultural Relations of the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A., took time out of a busy day to give me a tour of the Banca’s amazing collection of Sienese art, including the panels by Vincenzo Rustici showing the processions and animal fights of 1546. I also thank Signora Alva of Le Residenze Meridiane for a beautiful and comfortable place to stay on my research trips, and for giving a discount to a graduate student, and to Panda for providing feline companionship during my stay! In Florence, the Archivio di Stato and the Biblioteca Centrale Nazionale di Firenze were tremendously rich in documents and resources. The staff at the Uffizi Museum gave me the opportunity to see the painting of the Festival of the Offering of San Giovanni Battista, and I will never forget walking through the incredible storage facilities of this world-class museum. The office of the Museo Nazionale del Bargello permitted me to take my own photographs at no charge of the cassone showing the offering of tributes to the Baptistery, and these have proved essential in my interpretation of this work, as no detailed illustrations of this work have been published. I am forever grateful to Giovanni and Maria Teresa Dossena, in whose home I lived during my junior year on the Smith College Study Abroad program, and we have kept in touch over the years. I am also grateful to Beatrice, Antonio, and little Leonardo for their friendship and vi for helping me feel at home on my research trips, and to Alessandra and the Lotti family for an enjoyable day away from the archives last fall in Follonica. In the United States, the staff at the National Sporting Library in Middleburg, Virginia was especially helpful in facilitating my research and allowing me to photograph pages from their impressive collection of rare early Italian books on horsemanship. My friends and fellow graduate students in our informal dissertation group – Leslie Brice, Chris Slogar, and Ann Wagner - have been enormously helpful and provided insightful feedback for which I am most appreciative. Thanks also to Ann and Leslie, as well as fellow horse enthusiast, Sarah Cantor, and longtime friend, Maria Day, for help in proofreading my chapters on very short notice. My roommates Donna Pierce, Evelyn Chia, and former roommate Kathy Tin have been wonderful people with whom to share an apartment, and have been there through good times and bad. I look forward to July 2005 when the NASA mission Donna is working on, Deep Impact, makes contact with Tempel I – definitely an exciting event to look forward to! Many non-humans have, in their own ways, helped me through the dissertation process and/or have provided inspiration over the years.

Load more

  366

Copy Link