Rappresentanti dell’autorità e agenti del consenso : il ruolo di prefetti, clero e militari durante le feste civiche nel Regno d’Italia napoleonico

Mixing perspectives and methods typical of the cultural history of politics and of the history of public institutions, the author analyses the conduct of public officials in the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy during the organisation of civic festivals. His aim is to enlighten on the one hand the self-representation of the Napoleonic political power, always looking for a complete legitimation, on the other hand the practices of development and supervision of an appropriate public opinion among the population. In this way the author shows that highly-symbolic festivals first of all represent a test of offi-cials’ loyalty and reliability: as a matter of fact, they are essential delegates of the political authorities and mediators between them and local communities.