Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026): RIHA Journal

Special Issue
Mendicants, Humanists and the Aesthetics of the 'civitas'.
Rhetoric, Political Debates and Cultural Identity in 14th and 15th Century Italy and their Impact on Art, Architecture, and Urban Space
Guest-edited by Claudia Jentzsch and Katharine Stahlbuhk
This special issue examines the role of mendicant orders in the formation of humanist culture and urban identity. Based on a 2021 conference at the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History, it brings together six case studies on Italian Dominicans, Franciscans, and Carmelites. The contributions explore how friars engaged with civic values through preaching, texts, architecture, and artistic patronage. By focusing on the concept of civitas, the volume highlights the close interaction between convents, urban communities, and humanist thought.