ABSTRACT
The period Marenzio spent in Aldobrandini's service constitutes the peak of his career. On 30 January 1592, Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini was elected; as Clement VIII, he was to reign for 13 years. The reign of the Aldobrandini pope is usually remembered for two episodes notorious in the history of the Church: the trial of Beatrice Cenci and the death sentence imposed on Giordano Bruno. On the eve of the papal election, the Aldobrandini were absolute parvenus among the Roman aristocracy. Cardinale Ippolito Aldobrandini was, moreover, a creature of Sixtus V: he had received the purple on 18 December 1585 together with Alessandro Peretti di Montalto, in Sixtus V's first promotion of cardinals. The first documentary evidence of contact between Marenzio and a member of the Aldobrandini family is dated 5 June 1592: it is the letter of Pietro Aldobrandini to Virginio Orsini cited earlier.
