Art and Accounting History: The Teatro San Carlo of Naples, 1737–1786

Abstract

Abstract Situated in the centre of Naples, the Teatro San Carlo (TSC) was founded in 1737 by the Bourbon Crown during the Reign of the Two Sicilies (one of the several states into which Italy was divided in the eighteenth century), The theatre immediately became an object of admiration and was soon held to be without equal for the perfection of its acoustics. Its original project was described in the Encyclopédie by Diderot as a prime example of a modern theatre. The TSC was one of the most important theatres of Europe in the eighteenth century thanks to its opera buffas, ballets, comedies and operas. This paper examines developments in the management system (private vs. public), the organisational structure, the artistic and administrative activities as well as the accounting practices of the TSC during a period of approximately fifty years (from 1737 to 1786).