ABSTRACT
Carlo Bocchinensis letter adheres to the conventional rhetorical norms of sixteenth-century culture and represents the ideal approach for an artist seeking to establish a connection with a powerful aristocrat. In the eyes of his contemporaries, Virginio Orsini, a poet and an amateur musician himself, must have appeared a devoted supporter of poetry and music. After Virginio Orsini and his wife, Flavia Peretti, relocated to Rome in 1589, the Orsini court became a center of fervent artistic activity. Some of the musicians and singers associated with the circle of Virginio were not salaried or employed in fixed positions; instead, they were hired on an ad hoc basis to provide services for the Duke of Bracciano. Adorned with frescoes of muses, the saletta delle 9 muse in the castle of Bracciano, which is now called La Sala del Trono, seems to have been one of the locations for private musical events; another harpsichord and organ were kept here.
