The loose parts of an Entry: the flop of Cremona in 1598

The final essay (53.700 bytes) after the paper has been selected for publication. Abstract: Ceremonial entries of princes and sovereigns in Renaissance and Baroque Age greatly contributed to shape the urban image. As well as religious and civic monuments and the quest of mythic and heroic origins, these festive occasions helped to promote a city to the ambitioned status of “città fedelissima e nobilissima”. This increased prestige especially appealed to minor capitals whose representatives - established elites or self promoting groups or individuals - were prompted to invest large sums of money in receiving illustrious visitors, the conspicuous consumption being considered as a mark of magnificence. The unsuccessful experience of Cremona, a minor city of the Spanish dominion receiving Margarethe of Austria on her journey to Milan in 1598, is highly instructive both with regard to the assigned status of “città nobilissima” (almost a second capital of the State of Milan), and to the reasons why this ambitious program failed, leaving behind some scattered but significant evidences.