The palace outside the palace: architectural and festive performances in historic and literary gardens from the Early Modern Age

Abstract

The importance gardens are gradually gaining as courtly entertainment space in 16th century Spanish society, evident in the royal and noble palaces, is also reflected in the books of chivalry. This genre, pervaded by cultural and aesthetic patterns of sixteenth century, portrays Spanish court nobility festive practices that devoted part of their leisure time to ceremonies and celebrations developed in this natural setting. This paper seeks to show that the possession of a palace garden can be considered an architectural practice among the highest court nobility, who used this space for festive practices. It takes in consideration several documents and evidences that show the links between architectural practices and festive celebrations of the court nobility in gardens, both literary and historical.