Includes bibliographical references and index.

Acknowledgements -- List of Figures, Maps and Charts -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1 Cheap Print and the Problem of Readership -- 2 A Note on Sources and Terminology -- 3 Popular Culture in Italian Historiography -- 4 Into the Archives -- 5 Aim and Structure of the Book -- 1 Printing in Naples -- 1 An Organization for Booksellers and Printers -- 2 A Thriving Industry -- 3 Laws and Regulations -- 4 Biographical Notes on Notable Printers -- 2 Print and Politics -- 1 Broadsheets, Proclamations and the Communication of the Law -- 2 Newspapers and Propaganda -- 3 The Cost of News -- 3 Print in Times of Crisis -- 1 Masaniello’s Revolt -- 2 French Propaganda in the Neapolitan Republic -- 3 The Pamphlet War -- 4 The Spanish Side of the Argument -- 4 Print and Natural Disasters -- 1 The Vesuvius Eruption of 1631 -- 2 The Plague of 1656 -- 5 Print and Religion -- 1 Religious Censorship -- 2 Printing Religious Books -- 3 A Harmonious Relationship -- 4 Peculiarity of Neapolitan Devotion -- Conclusions -- Appendix: People of the Book Trade in Seventeenth-Century Naples -- Selected Bibliography -- Index.

What was published in Naples during the Spanish Vicerealm? How did books, pamphlets, broadsheets and newspapers contribute to the political awareness of the Neapolitan people? To what extent did the authorities engage with this politically-charged literary world? This book aims to answer these questions by discussing an untapped body of sources, in manuscript and printed form. What emerges is a vivid picture of a vibrant printing industry and a rich cultural landscape. Three moments of crisis of the seventeenth century – the eruption of Vesuvius, Masaniello’s revolt and a major plague epidemic – are used as a test of the capability of the Spanish authorities in regards to political and propagandistic communication. See Less

English

Description based on print version record.