Tra festa e spettacolo: un “Sacrificio” accademico per il Carnevale senese

This paper aims to analyse Sacrificio, an ironical and misogynistic ritual collectively celebrated in Siena on the day of Epiphany 1532 by the Accademia degli Intronati, as a sort of prologue to the carnival celebrations of that year. Starting from a historical analysis, an attempt is made to frame the event in light of the concept of ‘hybridism’, one of the main traits of sixteenth century Sienese theatre: Sacrificio, in fact, combines different artforms, including poetry, acting, music, and dance. By connecting the bibliography related to the activity of the Intronati with the rest of the ceremony (namely, its dramaturgical residue), this paper investigates the poems contained in the editio princeps of 1537, reproduced in the anastatic edition by Newbigin. An extensive knowledge of Petrarchist style, although overturned in a parodistic way, emerges from madrigals and sonnets.