Chapter 5 introduces a series of more concentrated studies on specific seasons of the feste di ballo. By the secondo Settecento, the feste were an annual characteristic spectacle within Neapolitan theatrical life. The initial years of the reign of Ferdinando and Maria Carolina witnessed an unprecedented breadth of artistic patronage with the migration of theatrical performances (tragic and comic) and the feste di ballo to the Reggia di Caserta, the opulent palace rivaling even Versailles in expanse and splendor. In particular, during the period of 1769–71, multiple feste were organized annually for the newly finished court theater at Caserta. Surviving archival documents in the Casa Reale Antica (fasc. 2221–2224) provide copious details of the transformation of the space into a vast area for dancing, including the contractual agreements with artistic personnel, financial summaries of the considerable expenses, and ephemera about these events. The archival sources convey in greater detail many of the broad references found in contemporary notices appearing in the Diario Ordinario and Notizie del Mondo. Taken together, these materials illuminate the far-reaching resonance and reception of the carnevale seasons at Caserta.

Chapter 1 offers a précis of the feste di ballo in Naples from the ascension of Carlo di Borbone in 1734 to the long reign of his son Ferdinando IV, whose Austrian consort, Maria Carolina, remained a significant patron in local artistic life. It considers the Neapolitan milieu against the backdrop of the wider European diffusion and patronage of social dance, especially in Paris (Carlo’s great-grandfather was Louis XIV), Milan, and Rome. The contemporary letters of Alessandro and Pietro Verri provide firsthand insights into the existence of similar feste di ballo, and their influence and social resonance in these cosmopolitan cities. The deep interest of Ferdinando and Maria Carolina from the very beginning of their reign in the second half of the eighteenth century encouraged their active engagement in the programming of feste di ballo. Their well-known passion for social dancing extended from the direct planning thereof to taking center stage in the public performance of the minuet and contradance, as well as requiring the study of dance for their children. These circumstances were meticulously documented in the contemporary periodicals Gazzetta Universale and Notizie del Mondo, and in the personal correspondence and diaries discussed here.

The sixth chapter covers a broader expanse of time, yet provides equally detailed descriptions of the feste, as the tradition returned to the Teatro di San Carlo in 1774. Responding to criticisms of both Carlo di Borbone (now king of Spain) and the Neapolitan Secretary of State Bernardo Tanucci (who provided the Spanish sovereign with detailed complaints about the lifestyles of his son and consort), the feste di ballo returned to the capital city and the royal theater. In the period 1774–86, the feste take on greater significance, not only as an instrumentum regni projecting positive images of sovereignty, but also as a financial bulwark against the significant losses incurred in virtually every opera season (meticulously detailed in memoranda contained in the fondo Archivio Farnesiano). Surviving financial documents, personnel rosters, and ledgers provide important details about the annual feste, ranging from fundamental questions about the physical transformation of the theater into a dance space to the retention of key artistic and managerial personnel. These sources relate closely to and often confirm many of the observations found in the historical accounts of Sara Goudar and Magri’s treatise Trattato teorico-prattico di ballo (1779), among others.

Chapter 7 considers the music created for the feste di ballo. The Library of the Conservatory of Naples contains an extensive selection of eighteenth-century dance music with a clear emphasis on the minuet and contradance. Several compilations can be directly associated with specific years and members of the local musical establishment. For example, a manuscript anthology (shelf mark Od.3.10) bears the inscription “Minuetti composed for the feste of the royal palace,” positing its use for events organized in the associated dance space. It bears the name of Antonio Montoro and the date 1776, alongside a handwritten annotation citing Giovanni Battista Bergantino as an author of additional selections. Both Montoro and Bergantino had long associations as violinists with the orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo (de facto band for the feste di ballo) and as composers of the dances for such events. Another contemporary source is a compendium of printed dance tunes by composers both local (including Luigi Marescalchi, the royal printer) and foreign (including Joseph Haydn, a favorite of the Neapolitan sovereigns). These collections provide an intimate guide to the practicalities of the feste di ballo tradition, namely a direct understanding of the music preferred and performed therein.

The establishment of Naples as an independent kingdom in the eighteenth century not only drew the European diplomatic corps to the city but also initiated a broad civic renewal and beautification of the city. Although Naples had been a cultural and musical capital of Europe since the previous century, the coalescence of political stability and social renewal with the intertwined network of artistic institutions (conservatories, theaters, churches, and patrons) propelled the kingdom into continental prominence. The city became a destination point for the vast number of travelers moving across the continent in search of pleasure, leisure or of “knowledge” (particularly regarding the reclamation of antiquity), or simply to follow prevailing fashions. These travelers – often young, affluent, educated, and with ties to aristocratic birthright – headed south for the “Grand Tour.” As a “must see,” Naples became an obligatory stop, and the experiences of travelers were immortalized in numerous books, journals, periodicals, travelogues, memoirs, visual arts, etc. Their reflections often merged around the broad themes of natural phenomena, the patrimony of ancient civilizations, and the unprecedented diversity of entertainment (above all, opera). Through these wide-ranging sources, this chapter documents how Naples entered the public imagination as a broad ideal of culture.

The last twenty-five years of the eighteenth century in Naples witnessed a profound transformation. At the center of this process of innovation, change, and upheaval was Queen Maria Carolina, the consort to King Ferdinand IV. Thanks to the influence of her mother, Empress Maria Theresa, Maria Carolina was not to be a mere spouse or observer; rather, she was destined to be the driving force for sweeping change within the Kingdom of Naples. Despite her well-documented limitations and even ineptitude, Maria Carolina established a formidable presence within contemporary artistic life. Unlike her husband, she possessed cultural sensibilities that were astute, and she was an engaged patron of art, music, and dance. This chapter focuses on Maria Carolina within the artistic sphere of her reign, namely as a cultural icon, with a specific emphasis on her role as a musical patron. Working from diverse sources – including historical research, surviving diaries, and personal correspondence, as well as related documents – this chapter establishes a portrait of Maria Carolina’s musical interests, with a specific focus on the cultivation of instrumental music at court, thereby shedding light on a largely unknown, yet important, sector of Neapolitan artistic life at the end of the eighteenth century.