Narrating the Visit of Two Special Guest: the “Ministro del Gran Signore” and the “Wondrous Beast”. Performing Power and the Politics of Pageantry at the Court of Carlo di Borbone (1741-1743)

This article analyses the rich and fascinating written and visual narrative, through which is possible to reconstruct the visit of an Ottoman special envoy to the Kingdom of Naples in 1741, showing how the performances arranged both on and off the stage to receive the envoy, from one side, had the clear intent of leaving a positive and long-lasting impression on the diplomat of the new Ottoman ally, and on the other side aimed at asserting the power of the Bourbon both in and outside the kingdom, leaving on the Neapolitans, in particular, an impression that would last even longer.