Degli Annali Della Citt Di Napoli 1631 1640

Naples was one of the largest cities in early modern Europe, and for about two centuries the largest city in the global empire ruled by the kings of Spain. Its crowded and noisy streets, the height of its buildings, the number and wealth of its churches and palaces, the celebrated natural beauty of its location, the many antiquities scattered in its environs, the fiery volcano looming over it, the drama of its people’s devotions, the size and liveliness - to put it mildly - of its plebs, all made Naples renowned and at times notorious across Europe. The new essays in this volume aim to introduce this important, fascinating, and bewildering city to readers unfamiliar with its history. Contributors are: Tommaso Astarita, John Marino, Giovanni Muto, Vladimiro Valerio, Gaetano Sabatini, Aurelio Musi, Giulio Sodano, Carlos José Hernando Sánchez, Elisa Novi Chavarria, Gabriel Guarino, Giovanni Romeo, Peter Mazur, Angelantonio Spagnoletti, J. Nicholas Napoli, Gaetana Cantone, Anthony DelDonna, Sean Cocco, Melissa Calaresu, Nancy Canepa, David Gentilcore, Diana Carrió-Invernizzi, and Anna Maria Rao. The publisher, editor, and contributors mourn the passing of Gaetana Cantone, who died in April 2013.

In the early 16th century - having succeeded in establishing themselves in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas - Spain and Portugal became the first imperial powers on a worldwide scale. Between 1580 and 1640, when these two entities were united, they achieved an almost global hegemony, constituting the largest political force in Europe and abroad. Although they lost their political primacy in the 17th century, both monarchies survived and were able to enjoy a relative success until the early 19th century. This collection answers the question as to how and why their cultural and political legacies persist to date. Part I of the book focuses on the construction of the monarchy, examining the ways different territories were integrated into the imperial network, mainly by inquiring to what extent local political elites maintained their autonomy and to what a degree they shared power with the royal administration. Part II deals primarily with the circulation of ideas, models, and people, observing them as they move in space. It also examines how they coincide in the court, which was a veritable melting pot in which the various administrations that served the kings and the various territories belonging to the monarchy developed their own identities, fought for recognition in what they considered their proper place in the global hierarchy. Part III explains the forms of dependence and symbiosis that were established with other European powers, such as Genoa and the United Provinces. Attempting to reorient the politics of these States, political and financial co-dependence often led to bad economic choices. The book discards the portrayal of the Iberian monarchies as the accumulation of many bilateral relations arranged in a radial pattern, arguing that these political entities were polycentric - that is to say, they allowed for the existence of many different centers which interacted and thus participated in the making of empire. The resulting political structure was complex and unstable, albeit with a general adhesion to a discourse of loyalty to king and religion.

The Continuity of Feudal Power is the first modern study of an aristocratic family in the kingdom of Naples, the largest Italian state, during the period of Spanish rule, 1503-1707.

Disputes, discord and reconciliation were fundamental parts of the fabric of communal living in early modern Europe. This edited volume presents essays on the cultural codes of conflict and its resolution in this period under three broad themes: peacemaking as practice; the nature of mediation and arbitration; and the role of criminal law in conflicts. Through an exploration of conflict and peacemaking, this volume provides innovative accounts of state formation, community and religion in the early modern period.

Melissa Calaresu is the McKendrick Lecturer in History at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, UK. Filippo de Vivo is Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK. Joan-Pau Rubies is Reader in International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.