The madrigal anthology Vittoria amorosa and the madrigal in Milan in the late sixteenth century

Musical historiography has generally overlooked the diffusion of the madrigal in late sixteenth-century Milan, but the phenomenon deserves further investigation. Thanks above all to some members of the widespread Trivulzio family, interest in secular vocal music and dance was very lively among several generations of the local aristocracy, as demonstrated, among other things, by the well-known publication Le gratie d’amore (1602) by Cesare Negri. The collective edition Vittoria amorosa, published in Venice in 1596, is dedicated to Count Teodoro Trivulzio, with the Milanese family’s coat of arms reproduced on the frontispiece. It includes twenty-four madrigals by twenty-one composers. Alongside famous composers such as Palestrina, Marenzio, Wert, Merulo, Porta, and Gastoldi, emphasis is given to Giulio Cesare Gabussi, choirmaster of the Milan Cathedral, and Rodiano Barera, choirmaster of the cathedral of the nearby city of Cremona. But who is the Vittoria celebrated in the title? The poetic texts allude to a woman endowed with an irresistible combination of sensual beauty and exquisite artistic mastery. This seems to be the portrait of a famous singer-actress of the time, a fact which would also be confirmed by Count Trivulzio’s passion for theatrical performances, documented in the correspondence between Nicolò Belloni and Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. In light of contemporary evidence, the candidacy of the famous Vittoria Piissimi, who performed in the prologue and intermedi of La caduta di Fetonte (Milan, 1594), is suggested.