Publisher's Synopsis
Naples was a major hub of artistic activity from the late thirteenth to the early seventeenth century, yet it has been overshadowed by other Italian cities because it defies art–historical definitions of a ‘cultural centre’: it is viewed as having imported more art and artists than it exported. The essays in this volume seek, in different ways, to redress the neglect of Naples, particularly noticeable in English–language scholarship, by questioning traditional definitions of ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ and by focusing on works of art and architecture which demonstrate the ways in which Naples can be defined as a cultural and artistic centre. The contributors reveal the breadth and wealth of artistic experience available in Naples through an exploration of fourteenth–century frescoes by Giotto and Cavallini, and fifteenth–century tombs and palace architecture; they examine the influence of Vasari’s writings on Naples, the importation of prestigious marble inlays in the sixteenth century, the frontispieces of published saints’ lives in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the concept of Naples as a ‘world city’.
