With contributions from provocative art and architectural historians, this book is a unique exposition of the temporary architecture erected for festivals and the role it has played in developing Western architectural and urban theory.

1. Introduction Sarah Bonnemaison and Christine Macy Part 1: Ritual and Architecture in Antiquity 2. The Festive Experience: Roman Processions in the Urban Context Diane Favro Part 2: Renaissance and Baroque Spectacle as Representations of Power 3. Festival Bridal Entries in Renaissance Ferrara Diane Yvonne Ghirardo 4. Festivals of State: The Representation of Power in Late Renaissance and Baroque Venice Margherita Azzi Visentini 5. Statecraft or Stagecraft? English Paper Architecture in the Seventeenth Century Caroline van Eck 6. Framing History: The Jubilee of 1625, the Dedication of New Saint Peter¿s and the Baldacchino Maarten Delbeke Part 3: Eighteenth Century Festivals and Urban Beautification 7. The Speculative Challenges of Festival Architecture in Eighteenth Century France Eric Monin Part 4: World Expositions and the Idea of Modernity 8. Marking Time and Space in the City: Kromhout¿s Decorations for the Investiture of Wilhelmina in Amsterdam Nancy Stieber 9. Sound, Light, and the Mystique of Space in Paris, 1937 Robert Weddle Part 5: Festivals of Resistance 10. Festival Urbanism: Carnival as an Expression of Civil Society in Nineteenth Century Basel Christine Macy 11. Taking Back the Street, Paris 1968-1978 Sarah Bonnemaison