La scena della diplomazia. Politica internazionale e cultura di corte nel Castello carrarese di Padova

The paper examines the coat of arms of King Louis I of Hungary in the Carrarese castle of Padua, showing them as a polysemic, multifunctional and highly effective act of political communication rather than a mere decorative element. The Carraresi used this heraldry to celebrate the alliance with the monarch during the military campaigns against Venice, culminating in the War of Chioggia (1378-1381). Subsequently, the analysis broadens to the numerous frescoes preserved inside the castle. These are presented as the result of a unitary and coherent decorative program carried out at the time of Francesco il Vecchio and in which the design and supervision of the painter Giusto de' Menabuoi can be recognised. Furthermore, both new documentary evidence and eighteenth-century drawings have made it possible to argue that a second decorative campaign was carried out during the signoria of Francesco Novello.