The Seicento (, ) is Italian history and culture during the 17th century. The Seicento saw the end of the Renaissance movement in Italy and the beginning of the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque era. The word means "six hundred" (sei = six, cento = hundred) and is short for , 1600.
Definition
The Seicento in Italy simply refers to the 17th century, yet abroad, the word refers to the Italian cultural and social history during this period, characterised by several wars and conflicts, invasions, and the patronage of the arts and architecture. It was also the period in which the Baroque era came into place (the Baroque being an essentially Italian movement, having been created by the popes in Rome as a part of the Catholic Reformation). This period also saw advancements in Italian science, philosophy and technology.
History
The 17th century was a tumultuous period in Italian history, with several political and social changes, and times of much civil and military unrest. This included the increase in number of Spanish colonies and possessions along the peninsula, and the increase in power of the pope and the Roman Catholic Church during the Counter Reformation, a counterpart of the Protestant Reformation. Despite several artistic and scientific contributions, such as the invention of several musical instruments, stylistic genres, astronomical discoveries and the creation of the Baroque, Italy, which was the cultural leader of Europe in the 16th century, experienced a social decline, which slowly began in the beginning of the 17th century and fell towards the end of the century. This was due to persistent conflicts, revolts (such as the Neapolitan 1647 tax-related Revolt of Masaniello), invasions and the rise in popularity of French, English and Spanish culture. In spite of that Italy was in this period at the forefront of the Scientific Revolution and witnessed the establishment of several prominent scientific societies—the Paduan Accademia dei Ricovrati (founded in 1599), the Roman Accademia dei Lincei (1603), the Florentine Accademia del Cimento (1657). In fields such as theatre (both tragedy and comedy), music (both religious and secular), art history, rhetoric, and political philosophy, Italians of this period played leading roles—the poets Giambattista Marino and Alessandro Tassoni, the composers Claudio Monteverdi and Francesco Cavalli, the art historian Giovanni Pietro Bellori, the literary theorist Emanuele Tesauro and the political theorist and statesman Giovanni Botero, to name just a few. As research into early modern Italy continues, the old Enlightenment historiography that argues for a decline into a dark age and a disjunction between the period of the Italian Renaissance and that of the 18th-century reformers dissolves.
Events which happened during this period include the 1633 papal trial of scientist Galileo Galilei, the 1647 revolt in Naples, the 1669 Etna eruption, the 1674 rebellion in Messina and the 1693 Sicily earthquake.
Different criteria
Art
Italian art during the 17th century was predominantly Baroque in essence. 17th-century Italian Baroque art was similar in style and subject matter to that during the same period in Spain - characterised by rich, dark colours, and often religious themes relating notably to martyrdom, and also the presence of several still lifes. Lombard painter Caravaggio stands out as one of the most prominent from this era, known for his sacred ("Supper at Emmaus"), mythological ("Medusa"), still-life ("Basket of Fruit") genres and the common depiction of local people ("Boy carrying a Basket of Fruit). His paintings were predominantly oil, and used warm, intense colours, and usually having dramatic themes. Having one of the forefathers of Baroque art, and one of the earliest modern painters, his styles influenced other Italian and foreign artists following him, including Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Gian Lorenzo Bernini was a prominent mid to late-17th century Baroque artist and sculptor, known for his statues, such as the "Ecstasy of Saint Theresa".
Architecture
Building styles for Italian 17th-century architecture, most notably the Baroque, were very different all across the country.