ABSTRACT
Flavia Peretti was the sister of Alessandro Peretti, the same Cardinal Montalto who in 1588 wrote a letter in praise of Marenzio. The figure of Cardinal Montalto has recently been the focus of musicological studies. Marenzio visited the Montalto palace on various occasions, for which he received adequate provision. Noel O'Regan has uncovered a document that reveals that Marenzio's relationship with Montalto also involved the Confraternity of SS. In the early 1590s there is a strong link in Rome connecting Virginio Orsini, his wife Flavia, his brother-in-law Montalto, Monsignor Francesco Maria Del Monte, Emilio de' Cavalieri, Vittoria Archilei and, in the final analysis, Marenzio himself. Born in 1572 Virginio was the only son of Isabella de' Medici, the ill-fated first wife of Paolo Giordano Orsini. Another guest at the Orsini's musical entertainments was Monsignor Del Monte. One of the few testimonies reveals that the composer was no longer living in the Orsini palace.
