sacra rappresentazione

sacra rappresentazione, (Italian: “holy performance”), in theatre, 15th-century Italian ecclesiastical drama similar to the mystery plays of France and England and the auto sacramental of Spain. Originating and flourishing in Florence, these religious dramas represented scenes from the Old and New Testaments, from pious legends, and from the lives of the saints. The plays were didactic, using dialogues drawn from the sacred Scriptures to instruct the audience in lessons of good conduct by dramatizing the...