Symbolic Domination and Artistic Geography in Italian Art History

AbstractThis co-authored essay remains an exemplary model of cultural geography applied to the history of art. Rejecting the conventional model of art and territory, it proposes “center” and “periphery” as the axis for the investigation of the history of Italian art. Central to the thesis is the concept of “symbolic domination,” as exercised in the urban secular and ecclesiastical contexts. In analyzing the dynamic relationships between center and periphery, the authors dismiss the standard critique of the cultural backwardness of the provinces, proposing more subtle and differentiated notions of resistance and accommodation toward the hegemonic power.