Per un'archeologia dello spazio pubblico

According to Jürgen Habermas, for most of the Middle Ages and the early Modern Age, European society did not possess a public sphere as a unique realm distinct from the private sphere. At that time there only existed a public representation of power. This study aims to determine whether such representations involve subjects as an audience or not. Specifically, it investigates how Habermas’ ideal type strains two historical case studies: a) the conflict between Pope Boniface VIII and the king of France, Philip the Fair, in the early 14th century and b) the Venetian Interdict of 1606 and 1607. The results suggest that the conflict between the sovereign-constraining institutions of the Middle Ages took place in a public sphere crowded by intermediate powers such as Academies in (a) and other stakeholders in (b). So it seems that the image of a unique public representation of power is only a dream.