«El vulgo zanza»: spazi pubblici, voci a Venezia durante le guerre d’Italia

«The People are Chattering»: Spaces, Publics, Voices in Venice during the Italian Wars
During the War of the League of Cambrai (15091517), Venice lost (and regained) most of its mainland territory while foreign armies threatened the edge of the lagoon. The crisis spurred vigorous city-wide debate, an «evanescent public sphere» composed of printed and oral communication, unfolding in a variety of public and private urban spaces, and including members of all classes. After surveying the historiography of the Habermasian and post-Habermasian public sphere, this article aims to provide a new definition of public political space by examining this critical historical moment.