The Modern Age through the 'theatrum mundi' metaphor: cartography, astronomy, opera and philosophy of history

Abstract

In this article I try to understand the importance of the theatrum mundi metaphor for the configuration of the Modern Age. After a brief introduction on the idea of Modern Age, I study the distinction between ancient and modern from the perspective of the discovery of America, arguing that the idea of globe, embodied in cartography, determined the metaphor of the world as theater, affecting a wide range of disciplines, from astronomy to theology. Next, I show the geopolitical component of the metaphor, linked to the idea of global empire, modern states and big cities. I dedicate a special section to show several melodramatic examples, mainly operatic, where the theatrum mundi metaphor reached a culminating point, linked to the European cities and their place in the world. Finally, I analyze the implications this metaphor had on the constitution of the philosophy of history, a discipline essentially linked to the Modern Age.