Corporeality and Performativity in Baroque Naples

The Body of Naples

Contributions by Clorinda Donato, Marino Forlino, Lara Harwood-Ventura, Marcella Salvi, Carmela Benedetta Scala Edited by Alessandro Giardino

Hardback - £81.00

Publication date:

08 November 2017

Length of book:

158 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498563987

This book provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the Neapolitan Baroque, through original and in-depth interpretations of pivotal masterpieces of Neapolitan art, literature, philosophy, theater. The book also presents the city of Naples as a cultural space in which the body functions as a visual, literary, and urban metaphor. By examining the works of Giordano Bruno, Caravaggio, Giambattista Basile, Silvio Fiorillo and Raimondo di Sangro, Principe di San Severo, the essays comprising this volume show the contribution of these world renowned figures to the Baroque imagery of Naples, but also highlight the impact the city had on their work. Finally, the book stirs reflection on the enduring presence and current revival of the Neapolitan Baroque, by looking at contemporary culture and the cinematic adaptation of baroque works, such as Matteo Garrone’s Tale of Tales.
Corporeality and Performativity in Baroque Naples takes readers to a captivating Italian destination, while tracing new thought-provoking routes connecting this seventeenth-century Mediterranean city to current theoretical perspectives. Philosophy, folktales, science, esotericism, visual and literary languages intermix in this volume of collected essays, allowing readers to appreciate the corporeal tradition of the Neapolitan Baroque and its rich cultural heritage.