The line between public and private becomes blurred when an individual’s apartments are used as performative space. So it is in the performative spaces of Isabella d’Este’s apartments in Mantua, where art, architecture, music, literature, and letters combine to create series of multi-media symbols that express enigmatic and often interrelated messages. The chapter “Songs for Isabella d’Este” and the 30-minute film it accompanies, Ad tempo taci: Songs for Isabella d’Este (https://ideamusic.web.unc.edu/ad-tempo-taci), focus on these connections to foster a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of individual artworks, architectural decoration, and performative gestures through juxtaposition with others.