Papers by Rebekah Perry
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 2017
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the nascent independent communes of central Italy expres... more In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the nascent independent communes of central Italy expressed a new sense of civic identity through the staging of elaborate public liturgical processions that shaped and were shaped by local mythology and idiomatic urban landscapes. The Medieval Inchinata Procession at Tivoli: Ritual Construction of Civic Identity in the Age of the Commune examines Tivoli's Inchinata procession, which continues to circle the city every year on the eve of the Feast of the Assumption. Reconstructing the route and performance of the medieval Inchinata through textual, topographical, and archaeological data, Rebekah Perry argues that the procession evolved as an adaptation of “official” liturgical rites introduced by Tivoli's rival Rome to a native apotropaic ritual and local narratives embedded in the city's topography. Through the cosmographical choreography of the procession, the young municipality may have used this amalgamation to invoke the New J...
This dissertation examines the socio-politics of urban performance and ceremonial imagery in the ... more This dissertation examines the socio-politics of urban performance and ceremonial imagery in the nascent independent communes of late medieval Lazio. It explores the complex manner in which these central Italian cities both emulated and rejected the political and cultural hegemony of Rome through the ideological and performative reinvention of its cult icons. In the twelfth century the powerful urban center of Tivoli adopted Rome’s grandest annual public event, the nocturnal Assumption procession of August 14-15, and transformed it into a potent civic expression that incorporated all sectors of the social fabric. Tivoli’s cult of the Trittico del Salvatore and the Inchinata procession in which the icon of the enthroned Christ was carried at the feast of the Assumption and made to perform in symbolic liturgical ceremonies were both modeled on Roman, papal exemplars. The Tiburtine procession, however, became a ritual communal act and its Savior icon an apotropaic palladium that protec...
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the nascent independent communes of central Italy express... more In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the nascent independent communes of central Italy expressed a new sense of civic identity through the staging of elaborate public liturgical processions that shaped and were shaped by local mythology and idiomatic urban landscapes. The Medieval “Inchinata” Procession at Tivoli: Ritual Construction of Civic Identity in the Age of the Commune examines Tivoli’s Inchinata procession that circled the city every year on the eve of the Assumption Feast. Reconstructing the route and performance of the medieval Inchinata through textual, topographical, and archaeological data, Rebekah Perry argues that the procession evolved as an adaptation of “official” liturgical rites introduced from its rival Rome to a native apotropaic ritual and local narratives embedded in its topography. Through the cosmographical choreography of the procession, the young municipality may have used this amalgamation to invoke the New Jerusalem as an appeal to divine authority for right to self-rule.
Tivoli’s “Inchinata” procession, featuring a monumental panel painting of Christ Enthroned, was i... more Tivoli’s “Inchinata” procession, featuring a monumental panel painting of Christ Enthroned, was instituted in the twelfth century to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption. Its participants used the city’s topography and landmarks to construct a ritual narrative that expressed the central messages of spiritual salvation and civic autonomy. In the later Middle Ages and early Renaissance, Tivoli’s institutions and built environment evolved, affecting the dialogue between the image-protagonist and its ritual setting in the procession, and adding new layers of meaning for audience and participants. Mendicant religious orders and devotional confraternities played an increasingly prominent role in the organization and performance of the procession. And they founded and patronized hospitals and charitable institutions in locations coinciding with its route. As these new institutions concentrated at the city gates, providing “stage sets” for ceremonies during the procession’s ritual pauses, the Inchinata took on the character of an allegorical “pilgrimage.” This allegory was expressed with increasingly elaborate dramatic and narrative elements that evoke a kind of mobile morality “play” in which contemporary models of Christianity were “performed” by the image. At the same time, the staging of the spectacle was codified by municipal law with increasing rigor and specificity to visually reinforce the social hierarchy and promote public order.
Conference Presentations by Rebekah Perry
Talks by Rebekah Perry
IAS Calls for Panels + Papers by Rebekah Perry
Call for IAS-Sponsored Session Proposals (https://www.italianartsociety.org)
Renaissance Society ... more Call for IAS-Sponsored Session Proposals (https://www.italianartsociety.org)
Renaissance Society of America (https://www.rsa.org)
7-10 April 2021
Convention Center, Dublin, Ireland https://www.theccd.ie
The IAS will sponsor up to four sessions at the annual conference of the Renaissance Society of
America (RSA) in Dublin, Ireland, 7-10 April 2021. Sessions are typically comprised
of three 20-minute papers. IAS members interested in putting together a panel or linked panels on
any topic of Italian Art c.1300-1650 should send a brief abstract (150 words max) with session
title(s) of less than 15 words each, keywords, name of organizer(s)/chair(s) with email addresses
and affiliation, a short list of potential or desired speakers (they need not be confirmed), and a onepage
CV.
The deadline for submission to the IAS is 15 April 2020.
For any questions and to submit proposals contact [email protected].
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Papers by Rebekah Perry
Conference Presentations by Rebekah Perry
Talks by Rebekah Perry
IAS Calls for Panels + Papers by Rebekah Perry
Renaissance Society of America (https://www.rsa.org)
7-10 April 2021
Convention Center, Dublin, Ireland https://www.theccd.ie
The IAS will sponsor up to four sessions at the annual conference of the Renaissance Society of
America (RSA) in Dublin, Ireland, 7-10 April 2021. Sessions are typically comprised
of three 20-minute papers. IAS members interested in putting together a panel or linked panels on
any topic of Italian Art c.1300-1650 should send a brief abstract (150 words max) with session
title(s) of less than 15 words each, keywords, name of organizer(s)/chair(s) with email addresses
and affiliation, a short list of potential or desired speakers (they need not be confirmed), and a onepage
CV.
The deadline for submission to the IAS is 15 April 2020.
For any questions and to submit proposals contact [email protected].
Renaissance Society of America (https://www.rsa.org)
7-10 April 2021
Convention Center, Dublin, Ireland https://www.theccd.ie
The IAS will sponsor up to four sessions at the annual conference of the Renaissance Society of
America (RSA) in Dublin, Ireland, 7-10 April 2021. Sessions are typically comprised
of three 20-minute papers. IAS members interested in putting together a panel or linked panels on
any topic of Italian Art c.1300-1650 should send a brief abstract (150 words max) with session
title(s) of less than 15 words each, keywords, name of organizer(s)/chair(s) with email addresses
and affiliation, a short list of potential or desired speakers (they need not be confirmed), and a onepage
CV.
The deadline for submission to the IAS is 15 April 2020.
For any questions and to submit proposals contact [email protected].
Sixteenth Century Society & Conference (https://sixteenthcentury.org)
Baltimore MD, 29 October-1 November 2020
Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel
IAS Deadline: 10 March 2020
The IAS is seeking complete session proposals that address any issue relevant to Italian art and architecture during the long sixteenth century. The Sixteenth Century Society & Conference (SCSC) was founded to promote scholarship on the early modern era (c.1450-1600), and actively encourages the participation of international scholars as well as the integration of younger colleagues into the academic community. IAS members interested in putting together a panel or linked panels should send a brief abstract (250 words max.); session title; a list of speakers with their affiliations and paper titles; and the name of the chair(s) with email address(es), affiliation(s), and one-page CV(s) to the IAS Program Committee Chair ([email protected]) by 10 March 2020.
Please note that the SCSC welcomes graduate student speakers who are within one or two years of defending their dissertations. However, all sessions must include at least one speaker who has received the PhD or other terminal degree, and predoctoral speakers should present dissertation research, not term papers.
Completed panels are due to SCSC (date to be announced)
https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gifPlease also see the IAS Submission Guidelines at http://italianartsociety.org/conferences-lectures/ias-conference-submission-guidelines/
IAS-Sponsored session (https://www.italianartsociety.org/conferences-lectures/ias-at-caa/)
College Art Association (CAA) Annual Conference in New York City, 10-13 February 2021
IAS Deadline: 28 February 2020
The Italian Art Society (IAS) is now accepting proposals for one sponsored session (1.5 hours) at CAA to be held in New York City 10-13 February 2021.
IAS members interested in putting together a panel on any topic of Italian art (broadly conceived) should send a brief abstract (250 words max.), session title, a short list of potential or desired speakers (they need not be confirmed), the name of the chair(s) with email addresses and affiliation, and a one-page CV.
We will consider both completed panels and those still seeking speakers.
Please submit all materials to the IAS Program Committee Chair ([email protected]) by 28 February 2020.
Please also see the IAS Submission Guidelines at http://italianartsociety.org/conferences-lectures/ias-conference-submission-guidelines/
American Association for Italian Studies (AAIS) 2020 [https://aais.wildapricot.org]
March 26-28 2020, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ [https://aais.wildapricot.org/conference_guidelines]
The Italian Art Society (IAS) seeks proposals for IAS-sponsored sessions at the annual meeting of the American Association of Italian Studies (AAIS).
In keeping with the mission of the AAIS, sessions that approach Italian Studies through interdisciplinary lenses and represent a range of interests and time periods are particularly welcome. Topics that are broadly conceived to include architecture, cinema, mass media, etc., are of special interest.
IAS members interested in putting together a panel should submit the following items:
• session title
• abstract (100 words max.), to be forwarded to the AAIS in the event of selection
• short list of potential or desired speakers (they need not be confirmed)
• a sentence or two contextualizing the proposal; explain the relevance/importance of the session and the related expertise of the
organizer(s) and speakers
• brief CV (1–3 pp)
Send materials by 10 November 2019 to [email protected].
Submit Session Proposals to IAS by: 10 November 2019
Submit Session Proposals to AAIS by: 1 December 2019
Submit Completed Sessions to AAIS by: 20 December 2019