I paesaggi sonori delle feste urbane nella seconda età borromaica. Le feste religiose e le feste dinastiche

During Federico Borromeo's episcopate, many urban festivities took place, both religious and political-dynastic, in which the musical and sound component played a decisive role. In the historiographical tradition, the study of Milanese festivities in the Spanish era has focused mainly on the visual aspects; but the musical and sound elements are essential to understanding how the dramaturgy of the festivity, based on the intersection of the arts, functioned. The sources examined are the printed reports, true <> that prolong in time and dilate in space the ephemeral event, and express a point of view close to the promoters of the festival. An examination of a number of reports dedicated to Milanese festivals in the first two decades of the 17th century identifies the ways in which noises, voices, sounds and music, aural languages intervened in the festive texture, sometimes to guide spectators to participate in the event, sometimes to accompany the spectacular action, sometimes to mark the rhythm, and sometimes to create real theatrical and musical inserts within the festivities. The reconstruction of the soundscapes of urban festivals proves essential to grasping the forms and practices of the dramaturgical composition of ephemeral events and thus defining their significance in terms of political communication.