Il racconto di una «vera et generalissima allegrezza». Festa dinastica e città ideale a Milano nel 1605

The article examines the dynastic festivals for the birth of Philip IV, held in Milan in 1605, and compares them with the festivities celebrated in Valladolid for the same occasion. The Milanese festivals are the subject of a written narrative by Cesare Parona, who was also the translator of the printed report, published in Spain and attributed to Miguel de Cervantes. While Parona sketches the outline of the ideal city celebrating its king with the participation of all social groups and components, it is noted that many types of festivals held in Milan echo those practised in Spain, in particular the use of knightly games. In particular, the Milanese festivals of 1605 seem to be modelled on a layout of mediaeval ancestry with extensive active participation of popular groups, the Arti, as well as the patrician classes. This characteristic disappears in the subsequent birth festivals celebrated in Milan in the 1630s, when the feast became a spectacle designed and organised exclusively by the centres of power and offered for popular enjoyment.