Celebration of Identity in Thirteenth- to Fifteenth-Century Florence, Milan, and Venice

The purpose of this contribution is to show the importance of the institution of the civic identity celebrations, in some Italian cities between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, for the legitimacy of the respective ruling classes and for building the consensus of citizens. It compares three cities with different political assets: the Duchy of Milan, dominated by the absolutism of the prince; the republic of Florence, without a de facto lord; the republic of Venice, characterized by a mixed regime, given the lifetime of the Doge's office. The comparative approach allows on the one hand to show the central role played by the performing arts in political negotiation between rulers and governed, and on the other to highlight the different communication strategies used to elaborate the identity representation of cities in correspondence with political needs of the respective regimes.