Art and Power: Renaissance Festivals 1450-1650

A work of great learning and skilful synthesis, beautifully illustrated. SUNDAY TIMES The spectacular festivals mounted by the princes of the Renaissance were both a marriage of the arts and a complex and subtle expression of political theory. From the Renaissance festivals ballet, opera and even the proscenium arch theatre are derived. Festivals are therefore a vital part of European cultural history. Here Roy Strong provides a guide to their origins and purpose, and their lasting influence.