Tales of Two Cities

Early modern Florence and Naples were important cities at the nexus of global cultural, political and economic networks. Their multicultural urban sphere fostered international mobility and the spread of news and information. Governmental and elite palaces, public buildings, busy streets and crowded squares became centres for the construction of propaganda and dissent that was manifested through public performances, rumours, animated debates and the circulation of material such as avvisi, broadsheets and anonymous compositions. The multidisciplinary approach of this volume explores the social and ideological impact of urban communication in Florence and Naples, with various case studies analysing the extent to which the dissemination of information shaped consensus, dissent and communities’ attitudes towards gender, minorities, otherness as well as the marginalised.