Beyond the Palio: Urbanism and Ritual in Renaissance Siena

Beyond the Palio is an interdisciplinary collection of essays documenting the ritual events and ceremonies of Renaissance Siena. In the past, scholarly accounts of the ceremonies that took place during Siena’s early modern history have been overshadowed by its most well-known and most studied event, the Palio; a dramatic horse race staged on the city’s central square. In this volume, each essay assumes the focus of the role of ritual events viewed in an urban context. Common themes addressed, such as the use of public space, the inclusive and exclusiveness of participants, ephemera produced for events, and the implications of ceremonial practice, explore the different components, and the importance, of ritual life within the context of the Italian Renaissance.