Liturgia e musica tra Roma e Mantova: ulteriori indagini relative alla basilica palatina di Santa Barbara

This essay is the product of a systematic research on the documents about the founding of the Palatine Basilica of Santa Barbara in Mantua by duke Guglielmo Gonzaga and the approval of its own Breviary and Missal, kept in the Vatican Institutes (Vatican Library and Secret Archives).The period examined lies between 1564 and 1583, the years of the two papal bulls, which, respectively, allowed the establishment of the Canons’ College and the use of its own liturgy. The presented research is by no means complete, but it opens up some very interesting lines of inquiry: it is a work in progress, which has left more questions than answers. The documents are rather varied: not only letters but also notes, comments, even a detailed analysis of the single points of the Breviary. The liturgical texts lead us to speculate on their sources and on the music composed on them, while, at the same time, making Guglielmo Gonzaga look not like an ambitious and eccentric duke, but like one of the personalities engaged in religious discussions during the period of the Council of Trent