ABSTRACT
The introduction of music printing in Venice at the beginning of the sixteenth century appears to have resolved a long-standing problem of achieving a wide commercial distribution for musical rules or regole. At about the time of the printing of Galilei's dialogue in Venice, an enigmatic lutenist known as the 'Cavaliere del Liuto' was establishing himself in Rome as one of the foremost players in Italy. The first Renaissance theorist in Italy to discuss the lute within the context of a general treatise on music was Giovanni Lanfranco in 1533. Despite its popularity, especially in Italy, the instrument inspired relatively few instruction books for the instrument, and the information contained in any one print is insufficient. From the very first Venetian edition of tablature printed by Petrucci in 1507, the lute enjoyed a commercial prosperity that was unrivalled by any other instrument for over a century.
