Humanistic Rhetoric and the Aesthetics of Cities in the Chapter Preaching of Mendicant Orders (Italy, Late 14th–15th Centuries)

The aim of this paper is to investigate, on the basis of oratory practices, how humanist characteristics penetrated the culture of the religious orders, particularly the mendicant orders. It focuses on occasions of particular solemnity, namely public orations delivered at the general chapters. In doing so, it offers some reflections on how these solemn occasions adopted a humanistic style of epideictic rhetoric and contributed to a renewed sensitivity to the architectural and monumental ekphrasis of the city.