{"product_id":"palaces-of-reason-the-royal-residences-of-bourbon-naples-9780271095219","title":"Palaces of Reason: The Royal Residences of Bourbon Naples","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003ePalaces of Reason \u003c\/i\u003etraces the fascinating history of three royal residences built outside of Naples in the eighteenth century at Capodimonte, Portici, and Caserta. Commissioned by King Charles of Bourbon and Queen Maria Amalia of Saxony, who reigned over the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, these buildings were far more than residences for the monarchs. They were designed to help reshape the economic and cultural fortunes of the realm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe palaces at Capodimonte, Portici, and Caserta are among the most complex architectural commissions of the eighteenth century. Considering the architecture and decoration of these complexes within their political, cultural, and economic contexts, Robin L. Thomas argues that Enlightenment ideas spurred their construction and influenced their decoration. These modes of thinking saw the palaces as more than just centers of royal pleasure or muscular assertions of the crown's power. Indeed, writers and royal ministers viewed them as active agents in improving the cultural, political, social, and economic health of the kingdom. By casting the palaces within this narrative, Thomas counters the assumption that they were imitations of Versailles and the swan songs of absolutism, while expanding our understanding of the eighteenth-century European palace more broadly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginal and convincing, Thomas's book will be of interest to historians of art and architectural history and eighteenth-century studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eRobin L. Thomas\u003c\/strong\u003e is Professor of Art History and Architecture at Penn State University. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eArchitecture and Statecraft: Charles of Bourbon's Naples, 1734-1759\u003c\/i\u003e, also published by Penn State University Press.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penn State University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50509427638546,"sku":"9780271095219","price":120.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_e7c3827c-0a28-486e-94fc-bc7f7657eae7.jpg?v=1730898463","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/palaces-of-reason-the-royal-residences-of-bourbon-naples-9780271095219","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}