La festa di Napoleone : sovranità, legittimità e sacralità nell'Europa francese (repubblica/impero francese, Repubblica/Regno d'Italia, Regno di Spagna, 1799-1814)

By combining research methods from the cultural history of the politic with a comparative perspective, my dissertation covers the celebrations of the Napoleonic era that took place between 1799 and 1814 in the Republic (later, Empire) of France, in the Republic (later, Kingdom) of Italy, and in the Kingdom of Spain. My comparative perspective aims to show the existence of a model of Napoleonic celebration that was fairly uniform across the three geographical contexts I studied, especially in its basic principles, fundamental concepts and values conveyed. My study centres on the concepts of sovereignty, legitimacy and sacrality, and aims to shed light on their interplay and their significance in the context of Napoleonic-era civic festivities, especially in terms of the forms of symbolic, visual and discursive representation that were used. My analysis of these forms of representation will allow the reader to better understand not only the manifestations of Napoleonic power, but also its ideological underpinnings, characteristics, and evolution over time.