Cerimoniale e informale. Gustavo III a Venezia tra «metodi da tenersi», onori e oneri

The paper examines the sojourn of Gustavo III in Venice in 1784 in the political and institutional context of the city. Arriving in the city on May 3rd in incognito, according to a widespread practice, under the name of count of Haga, the Swedish sovereign was hosted according to the rules established by the Ceremonial of the Republic. The archival documentation, in addition to the methods established on similar occasions, also allows us to analyze the burdens borne for the reception of the King, the efforts made both by the city administration and by the patrician Alvise Pisani, asked to contribute to the expenses, following the custom for visits by sovereigns who sojourned in incognito. The sources, also, describe the most important and significant moments of Gustavo III’s Venetian sojourn, accompanied by his entourage. A lover of the arts, letters and sciences, Gustavo III admired the rich Venetian historical and artistic heritage and, in the Europe of Enlightenment, the Sovereign inaugurated a new course in the domestic and international politics of Sweden, characterizing an era that, rightly so, has been called «Gustavian age».