«S’oda in ciel sempr’ecchegiare: “viva pur felsina viva!"»: Patriotism in Bolognese Oratorios.

The oratorio flourished in Bologna during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Whilst a number of factors contributed to its popularity, in his key survey of the genre, The Oratorio in Bologna (1650-1730) Victor Crowther argues that civic pride played an important part in the phenomenon. This is reflected not only in the number of oratorios devoted to local saints (including Santa Catterina de? Vigri and San Petronio) but also those in which Bologna herself features as a character in the drama. Taking as its focus a number of oratorios and dramatic cantatas from the period, this essay examines the ways in which patriotism is conveyed, highlighting the extent to which these works are reflections of contemporary ideas of what it means to be Bolognese in this period.