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104-495: Palestrina is the birthplace of composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina . Palestrina is sited on a spur of the Monti Prenestini , a mountain range in the central Apennines . Modern Palestrina borders the following municipalities: Artena , Castel San Pietro Romano , Cave , Gallicano nel Lazio , Labico , Rocca di Cave , Rocca Priora , Rome , San Cesareo , Valmontone , Zagarolo . Ancient mythology connected

208-636: A Roman charioteer from Lamego in Lusitania (modern-day Portugal) who became one of the most celebrated athletes in ancient history and is often cited as the highest-paid athlete of all time , was living in Praeneste after his retirement and died there. Pliny the Younger also had a villa at Praeneste, and L. Aurelius Avianius Symmachus retired there. Inscriptions show that the inhabitants of Praeneste were fond of gladiatorial shows. Praeneste

312-690: A nymphaeum with a mosaic floor. The western mosaic represents a seascape: a temple of Poseidon on the shore, with fish of all kinds swimming in the sea. The eastern building was decorated with the famous mosaic with scenes from the Nile , relaid in the Palazzo Colonna Barberini in Palestrina on the uppermost terrace (now the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina). In the forum area an obelisk

416-682: A book of Masses . It was the first book of Masses by a native composer, since in the Italian states of Palestrina's day, most composers of sacred music were from the Low Countries , France, or Spain. In fact the book was modelled on one by Cristóbal de Morales : the woodcut in the front is almost an exact copy of the one from the book by the Spanish composer. In 1555, Pope Paul IV ordered that all papal choristers should be clerical. As Palestrina married early in life and had four children, he

520-489: A certain age and level of experience before running for any particular office. Sulla also wanted to reduce the risk that a future general might attempt to seize power, as he himself had done. To this end he reaffirmed the requirement that any individual wait for ten years before being re-elected to any office. Sulla then established a system where all consuls and praetors served in Rome during their year in office, and then commanded

624-601: A dangerous illness and made it a municipium . The emperor Marcus Aurelius was at Praeneste with his family when his 7-year-old son Verus died. The ruins of the imperial villa associated with Hadrian stand in the plain near the church of S. Maria della Villa, about three-quarters of a mile from the town. At the site was discovered the statue of the Braschi Antinous , now in the Vatican Museums . Gaius Appuleius Diocles (104 – after 146 AD),

728-537: A deliberate decision that any intensity of expression was unbecoming in church music, reflects modern expectations about expressive freedom and underestimates the extent to which the mood of Palestrina's settings is adapted to the liturgical occasions for which the texts were set, rather than the line-by-line meaning of the text, and depends on the distinctive characters of the church modes and variations in vocal grouping for expressive effect. Performing editions and recordings of Palestrina have tended to favour his works in

832-629: A few large landowners. From the late Republic to the late Empire, markets, baths, shrines and even a second forum were built in the lower city, near today's Madonna dell'Aquila. Under the Empire the cool breezes of Praeneste made it a favourite summer resort of wealthy Romans, whose villas studded the neighbourhood, though they ridiculed the language and the rough manners of the native inhabitants. The poet Horace ranked "cool Praeneste" with Tibur and Baiae as favoured resorts. The emperor Augustus stayed in Praeneste, and Tiberius recovered there from

936-506: A general collapse and Marius army scattered in rout. Marius lost 28,000 men (killed, captured, turned coat or fled) while Sulla claimed to have only lost 23 men. Marius survived the Battle of Sacriportus and retreated with 7,000 men to Praeneste . The first to arrive were lucky and could enter through the gates, but as the Sullan forces got closer the terrified townspeople of Praeneste shut

1040-553: A man called Albinovanus, hatched a plan with the Sullans to assassinate Norbanus and his senior officers (to show his good faith). At a feast Albinovanus had organized Norbanus' officers were murdered. Norbanus was unable to attend the feast and survived. After the assassination and the Lucanians defection, Ariminum went over to Sulla as well. Norbanus abandoned his army and fled from Italy. Meanwhile, Sulla and his army had arrived at

1144-485: A promise that they would never again fight against him or rejoin Carbo. However, Scipio broke his promise immediately after their release and went straight to Carbo in Rome. Sulla then defeated Norbanus for a second time. Norbanus, however, escaped back to Rome and had Metellus Pius and all other senators marching with Sulla declared enemies of the state. In Rome the elections for the consulship of 82 were held; Gaius Marius

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1248-418: A proscribed person was punishable by death, while killing a proscribed person was rewarded. Family members of the proscribed were not excluded from punishment, and slaves were not excluded from rewards. As a result, "husbands were butchered in the arms of their wives, sons in the arms of their mothers". The majority of the proscribed had not been enemies of Sulla, but instead were killed for their property, which

1352-408: A provincial army as a governor for the year after they left office. Finally, in a demonstration of his absolute power, Sulla expanded the " Pomerium ", the sacred boundary of Rome, unchanged since the time of the kings. Sulla's reforms both looked to the past (often re-passing former laws) and regulated for the future, particularly in his redefinition of majestas (treason) laws and in his reform of

1456-583: A response to similar killings which Marius and Cinna had implemented while they controlled the Republic during Sulla's absence. Proscribing or outlawing every one of those whom he perceived to have acted against the best interests of the Republic while he was in the East, Sulla ordered some 1,500 nobles ( i.e., senators and equites ) executed, although it is estimated that as many as 9,000 people were killed. The purge went on for several months. Helping or sheltering

1560-414: A result of this war, Sulla was installed as dictator of Rome , but many Italian towns and cities were heavily damaged: for instance, Sullan forces inflicted extensive damage upon Forlì ( Forum Livii ), which had allied with Marius. The reconstruction took decades. In total control of Rome and Italy, Sulla instituted a series of proscriptions (a program of executing those whom he perceived as enemies of

1664-560: A sojourn that provided the backdrop, nearly half a century later, for Adrian Leverkühn's pact with the Devil in Mann's novel Doktor Faustus . In Inferno , Dante makes reference to advice given by Guido da Montefeltro to Pope Boniface VIII to entice the surrender of Palestrina in 1298 by offering the Colonna family an amnesty. The amnesty was never intended be honored, and instead Palestrina

1768-416: A two-storey civil basilica consisting of four naves separated by columns, once roofed but today an open space. The basilica was flanked by two buildings, the easternmost containing a raised podium ( suggestus ) and the public treasury, the aerarium , identified by an inscription dating it to ~150 BC. At some later date (perhaps around 110-100 BC), the buildings flanking the basilica were each embellished with

1872-405: A very hard-fought and drawn-out battle, emerged victorious. It was afterwards estimated that ca. 50,000 men lost their lives on the battlefield that day. Damasippus, Carrinas and Censorinus were brought to Sulla the following day and executed. Their heads and those of Lamponius and Telesinus were displayed to Marius at Praeneste. Sulla subsequently entered Rome as a saviour (he had saved Rome from

1976-557: Is a noteworthy Pietà , carved in the solid rock. The National Archeological Museum of Palestrina is housed inside the Renaissance Barberini Palace, the former baronial palace, built above the ancient temple of Fortuna. It exhibits the most important works from the ancient town of Praeneste. The famous sculpture of the Capitoline Triad is exhibited on the first floor. The second floor is dedicated to

2080-680: Is named in his honor. In 2009 a film about the composer was produced by German television ZDF / Arte . Title: Palestrina - Prince of Music , directed by Georg Brintrup . Sulla%27s civil war Sulla's civil war was fought between the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla and his opponents, the Cinna-Marius faction (usually called the Marians or the Cinnans after their former leaders Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna ), in

2184-468: Is often based on the codification by the 18th-century composer and theorist Johann Joseph Fux , published as Gradus ad Parnassum (Steps to Parnassus, 1725). Citing Palestrina as his model, Fux divided counterpoint into five species (hence the term " species counterpoint "), designed as exercises for the student, which deployed progressively more elaborate rhythmic combinations of voices while adhering to strict harmonic and melodic requirements. The method

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2288-413: Is widely used today in the resurrection hymn tune, Victory (The Strife Is O'er). His attitude toward madrigals was somewhat enigmatic: whereas in the preface to his collection of Canticum canticorum (Song of Songs) motets (1584) he renounced the setting of profane texts, only two years later he was back in print with Book II of his secular madrigals (some of these being among the finest compositions in

2392-457: The prima prattica ) by such students of his as Giovanni Maria Nanino , Ruggiero Giovanelli , Arcangelo Crivelli , Teofilo Gargari , Francesco Soriano , and Gregorio Allegri . As late as the 1750s, Palestrina's style was still the reference for composers working in the motet form, as can be seen by Francesco Barsanti 's Sei Antifones 'in the style of Palestrina' (c. 1750; published by [Peter] Welcker, c. 1762). Much research on Palestrina

2496-595: The Diocese of Palestrina : Antonio Barberini and Francesco Barberini (Junior) , the son of Maffeo Barberini. The Barberini Palace originally included the Nile mosaic of Palestrina . Palestrina was the scene of an 1849 action between Garibaldi and the Neapolitan army during his defence of the Roman Republic. The centre of the city was destroyed by Allied bombings during World War II ; but that brought

2600-616: The Duke of Alba in 1556. In 1630, the comune passed by purchase into the Barberini family . It is likely the transfer was included as one of the conditions of the marriage of Taddeo Barberini and Anna Colonna . Thereafter, the famously nepotistic family, headed by Maffeo Barberini (later Pope Urban VIII ), treated the comune as a principality in its own right. Patriarchs of the Barberini family conferred, on various family members,

2704-661: The Gracchian popularis reforms, was an optimate; though his coming to the side of the traditional Senate originally could be described as more reactionary when dealing with the Tribunate and legislative bodies, while more visionary when reforming the court system, governorships and membership of the Senate. As such, he sought to strengthen the aristocracy, and thus the Senate. Sulla retained his earlier reforms, which required senatorial approval before any bill could be submitted to

2808-745: The Marsi and Pompey to raise further legions in Picenum, also recruiting soldiers from Calabria and Apulia . As the campaigning season opened, Sulla advanced along the Via Latina towards the capital and Metellus supported by Pompey led Sullan forces into northern Italy. Carbo threw himself against Metellus whilst the young Marius defended the city of Rome itself. Marius the Younger marched his army south-east into Campania and met Sulla's forces at Sacriportus (near Signia). After an initial engagement Sulla decided to pitch camp. While Sulla's men were preparing

2912-601: The Mass in B minor . Most of Palestrina's masses appeared in thirteen volumes printed between 1554 and 1601, the last seven published after his death. One of his most important works, the Missa Papae Marcelli (Pope Marcellus Mass) has been historically associated with erroneous information involving the Council of Trent. According to this tale (which forms the basis of Hans Pfitzner 's opera Palestrina ), it

3016-542: The Plebeian Council (the principal popular assembly), and which had also restored the older, more aristocratic "Servian" organization to the Centuriate Assembly (assembly of soldiers). Sulla, himself a patrician and thus ineligible for election to the office of Plebeian Tribune , thoroughly disliked the office. As Sulla viewed the office, the Tribunate was especially dangerous and his intention

3120-592: The Via Praenestina . Praenestine graves from about 240 BC onwards have been found: they are surmounted by the characteristic cippus made of local stone, containing stone coffins with rich bronze, ivory and gold ornaments beside the skeleton. From these come the famous bronze boxes ( cistae ) and hand mirrors with inscriptions partly in Etruscan . Also famous is the bronze Ficoroni Cista ( Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rome ), engraved with pictures of

3224-598: The syntax of the sentences he was setting to music, something not always observed by earlier composers. Also to be noticed in Palestrina is a great deal of tone painting . Elementary examples of this are descending musical motion with Latin words like descendit (descends) or of a static musical or cadential moment with the words de coelis (from heaven). Palestrina was extremely famous in his day, and if anything, his reputation and influence increased after his death. J.S. Bach studied and hand-copied Palestrina's first book of Masses , and in 1742 wrote his own adaptation of

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3328-434: The "pure" style of polyphony achieved by Palestrina followed an invariable set of stylistic and combinational requirements, was justified. Fux's manual was endorsed by his contemporary J.S. Bach , who himself arranged two of Palestrina's masses for performance. According to Fux, Palestrina had established and followed these basic guidelines: Fux omits to mention the manner in which the musical phrasing of Palestrina followed

3432-411: The 1570s was difficult for him personally: he lost his brother, two of his sons, and his wife, Lucrezia Gori, in three separate outbreaks of the plague (1572, 1575, and 1580, respectively). He seems to have considered becoming a priest at this time, but instead he remarried, this time to a wealthy widow, Virginia Dormoli. This finally gave him financial independence (he was not paid well as choirmaster) and

3536-564: The Council of Trent, as an official body, never actually banned any church music and failed to make any ruling or official statement on the subject. These stories originated from the unofficial points-of-view of some Council attendees who discussed their ideas with those not privy to the Council's deliberations. Those opinions and rumors have, over centuries, been transmuted into fictional accounts, put into print, and often incorrectly taught as historical fact. While Palestrina's compositional motivations are not known, he may have been quite conscious of

3640-527: The Kyrie and Gloria of the Missa sine nomine . Felix Mendelssohn placed him in the pantheon of the greatest musicians, writing, "I always get upset when some praise only Beethoven, others only Palestrina and still others only Mozart or Bach. All four of them, I say, or none at all.". Conservative music of the Roman school continued to be written in Palestrina's style (which in the 17th century came to be known as

3744-604: The Marian forces, made his way to join Sulla. When Pompey met Sulla, he addressed him as Imperator . Publius Cornelius Cethegus , a firm supporter of Marius, now also joined the Sullan cause. To check his enemies' unresisted advance, Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (consul 85 BC) sent his newly elected puppet consuls, Gaius Norbanus and Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus , both with armies, against Sulla. When Sulla arrived in Campania he found

3848-574: The Samnites, Rome's ancient enemy). A meeting of the Senate was convened in the Temple of Bellona ; as Sulla was addressing the senators, the sound of terrified screams drifted in from the Campus Martius . Sulla calmed the senators by attributing the screams to 'some criminals that are receiving correction.' In reality, what the Senate had heard was the sound of 8,000 prisoners who had surrendered

3952-454: The Senate. Near the end of 81 BC, Sulla, true to his traditionalist sentiments, resigned his dictatorship, disbanded his legions and re-established normal consular government. He stood for office (with Metellus Pius ) and won election as consul for the following year, 80 BC. He dismissed his lictors and walked unguarded in the Forum, offering to give account of his actions to any citizen. In

4056-495: The Sullan siege. Unfortunately for them, Sulla and his army put themselves in their path in a very defensible position. Damasippus, Censorinus and Carrinas then joined their men with the Samnites and Lucanians and together they decided to march on Rome. When Sulla found out he immediately pursued them. Outside the walls of Rome, the last decisive battle of the civil war, the Battle of the Colline Gate , took place; Sulla, after

4160-408: The Younger (the son of the great Gaius Marius) and Gnaeus Papirius Carbo (re-elected for the second time) were elected. At the end of the campaigning season of 83 BC, Marcus Lucullus , one of Sulla's legates, defeated a numerically superior force (50 cohorts to his 16) at Fidentia . The new consuls for the year 82 BC were Gnaeus Papirius Carbo, for his third term, and Gaius Marius the Younger, who

4264-536: The ancient remains of the sanctuary to light. The modern town of Palestrina is centered on the terraces once occupied by the massive temple of Fortuna. The town came to largely obscure the temple, the monumental remains of which were revealed as a result of American bombing of German positions in World War II . The town also contains remnants of ancient cyclopean walls. On the summit of the hill at 753 metres (2,470 ft), nearly 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) from

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4368-840: The arrival of the Argonauts in Bithynia and the victory of Pollux over Amycus , found in 1738. An example of archaic Latin is the inscription on the Ficoroni Cista : "Novios Plautios Romai med fecid / Dindia Macolnia fileai dedit" ("Novios Plautios made me in Rome, Dindia Macolnia gave me to her daughter"). The caskets are unique in Italy , but a large number of mirrors of precisely similar style have been discovered in Etruria . Hence, although it would be reasonable to conjecture that objects with Etruscan characteristics came from Etruria,

4472-411: The camp (digging a ditch, throwing up earthworks) Marius suddenly attacked. Sulla's veterans simply stuck their pila into the ground to create a makeshift barricade and drew their swords. When they had organized their battle lines the Sullans counter-attacked. Marius' force were put on the defensive, their left began to waver and five cohorts of foot soldiers and two of horse deserted to Sulla. This cause

4576-592: The city. Damasippus called a meeting of the Senate and there, in the Curia itself, the marked men were cut down by assassins. Some, such as Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus were killed on the senate steps as they tried to flee, and the Pontifex Maximus , chief priest of Rome, Quintus Mucius Scaevola was murdered in the Temple of Vesta ; the bodies of the murdered were then thrown into the Tiber . Meanwhile in

4680-458: The city. He was saved through the efforts of his relatives, many of whom were Sulla's supporters, but Sulla noted in his memoirs that he regretted sparing Caesar's life, because of the young man's notorious ambition. The historian Suetonius records that when agreeing to spare Caesar, Sulla warned those who were pleading his case that he would become a danger to them in the future, saying: "In this Caesar there are many Mariuses." Sulla, who opposed

4784-444: The consul Norbanus blocking the road to Capua . Eager not to appear a war-hungry invader, Sulla sent deputations to Norbanus offering to negotiate, but these were rejected. Norbanus then moved to block Sulla's advance at Canusium and became the first to engage him in the Battle of Mount Tifata . Here Sulla inflicted a crushing defeat on the Marians, with Norbanus losing six thousand of his men to Sulla's seventy. Norbanus withdrew with

4888-422: The development of counterpoint . According to Grove Music Online , Palestrina's "success in reconciling the functional and aesthetic aims of Catholic church music in the post-Tridentine period earned him an enduring reputation as the ideal Catholic composer, as well as giving his style (or, more precisely, later generations' selective view of it) an iconic stature as a model of perfect achievement." Palestrina

4992-516: The evidence points decisively to an Etruscan factory in or near Praeneste itself. Other imported objects in the burials show that Praeneste traded not only with Etruria but also with the Greek east. Its citizens were offered Roman citizenship in 90 BC in the Social War , when concessions had to be made by Rome to cement necessary alliances. In Sulla's civil war , Gaius Marius was blockaded in

5096-413: The following year the town was taken by Boniface's Papal forces, razed to the ground and salted by order of the pontiff. In 1437 the rebuilt city was captured by Giovanni Vitelleschi , a condottiero in the service of the papacy, and once more utterly destroyed at the command of Pope Eugenius IV . It was rebuilt once more and fortified by Stefano Colonna in 1448. It was sacked in 1527 and occupied by

5200-677: The formation of his style as an adviser. From 1544 to 1551, Palestrina was the organist of the Cathedral of St. Agapito , the principal church of his native city. In 1551 Pope Julius III (previously the Bishop of Palestrina ) appointed Palestrina maestro di cappella or musical director of the Cappella Giulia , (Julian Chapel, in the sense of choir), the choir of the chapter of canons at St. Peter's Basilica . Palestrina dedicated to Julius III his first published compositions (1554),

5304-408: The gates. Marius himself had to be hoisted in on a rope, while hundreds of Marians trapped between the walls and the Sullans were massacred. Sulla then left his lieutenant Lucretius Afella besieging Praeneste and moved on the now-undefended Rome. Upon his defeat Marius sent word to the praetor Lucius Junius Brutus Damasippus in Rome, to kill any remaining Sullan sympathisers left before Sulla could take

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5408-440: The hallmarks of Palestrina's music is that dissonances are typically relegated to the "weak" beats in a measure. This produced a smoother and more consonant type of polyphony which is now considered to be definitive of late Renaissance music, given Palestrina's position as Europe's leading composer in the wake of Josquin des Prez (d. 1521). The "Palestrina style" taught in college courses covering Renaissance counterpoint

5512-610: The island for the Sullan cause. Marcus Lucullus, bottled up in Placentia , was able to break the siege. Norbanus coming to the rescue of the besiegers tried to surprise Lucullus by a forced-march, but Lucullus was ready for him and slaughtered his exhausted troops. Having taken and looted the town of Sena, Crassus and Pompey severely defeated Carrinas who had marched against them, killing 3,000 Marian soldiers and forcing him to seek refuge in Spoletium . On his way to Praeneste, Sulla

5616-546: The league in 499 BC, according to Livy (its earliest historical mention), and formed an alliance with Rome , the action which led to a battle between the latter and thirty Latin states. After Rome was weakened by the Gauls of Brennus (390 BC), Praeneste switched allegiances and fought against Rome in the long struggles that culminated in the Latin War . From 373 to 370, it was in continual war against Rome or her allies, and

5720-489: The level of the temple, occupies the former civil basilica of the town, whose façade includes a sundial described by Varro , traces of which may still be seen. In the modern piazza the steps leading up to this basilica and the base of a large monument were found in 1907; evidently only part of the piazza represents the ancient forum. The cathedral has fine paintings and frescoes. In the Church of Santa Rosalia (1677) there

5824-515: The medium). He published just two collections of madrigals with profane texts, one in 1555 and another in 1586. The other two collections were spiritual madrigals, a genre beloved by the proponents of the Counter-Reformation. Palestrina's masses show how his compositional style developed over time. His Missa sine nomine seems to have been particularly attractive to Johann Sebastian Bach , who studied and performed it while writing

5928-499: The modern qualities in the compositions of Palestrina such as research of color and sonority, use of sonic grouping in large-scale setting, interest in vertical as well as horizontal organization, studied attention to text setting. These unique characteristics, together with effortless delivery and an indefinable "otherness", constitute to this day the attraction of Palestrina's work. The Cagliari music conservatory in Cagliari , Italy

6032-513: The more familiar modes and standard (SATB) voicings, under-representing the expressive variety of his settings. There are two comprehensive editions of Palestrina's works: a 33-volume edition published by Breitkopf and Härtel, in Leipzig Germany between 1862 and 1894 edited by Franz Xaver Haberl , and a 34-volume edition published in the mid twentieth century, by Fratelli Scalera, in Rome, Italy edited by R. Casimiri and others. One of

6136-517: The necropoli and sanctuaries, while the third floor contains a large polychrome mosaic depicting the flooding of the Nile ( Nile mosaic of Palestrina ). Palestrina was the home town of the 3rd-century Roman writer Aelian , and of the great 16th-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina . Thomas Mann spent some time there in 1895 and, two years later, during the long harsh summer of 1897, he stayed over again, with his brother Heinrich Mann , in

6240-474: The need for intelligible text; however, this was not to conform with any doctrine of the Counter-Reformation , because no such doctrine exists. His characteristic style remained consistent from the 1560s until the end of his life. Roche's hypothesis that Palestrina's seemingly dispassionate approach to expressive or emotive texts could have resulted from his having to produce many to order, or from

6344-456: The newly elected Pope Innocent X launched an investigation into members of the Barberini family. Later the Barberini reconciled with the papacy when Pope Innocent X elevated Taddeo's son, Carlo Barberini to the cardinalate and his brother Maffeo Barberini married a niece of the Pope and reclaimed the title, Prince of Palestrina. Two members of the Barberini family were named Cardinal-Bishop of

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6448-537: The north, Metellus working in tandem with Pompey fought the consul Carbo and his legates Gaius Carrinas and Gaius Marcius Censorinus . Metellus defeated Carrinas at the River Aesis, only to be blockaded by Carbo himself. Upon hearing that Marius the Younger had been defeated at Sacriportus, Carbo withdrew to Ariminum , severely harassed by cavalry attacks on his rearguard by Pompey. Some time later Metellus and Pompey defeated Censorinus near Sena Gallica and sacked

6552-734: The north. Sulla divided his army in two, sending one division to Saturnia by way of the Via Clodia while he commanded the other division to Clusium along the Via Cassia . Carbo decided to take on Sulla himself. Their two armies met near Clussium, where an indecisive all-day battle was fought. The next day Sulla retreated because he was informed that the Samnites and Lucanians were threatening Afella's army at Praeneste. The other Sullan force had meanwhile been completely successful, defeating its opponent near Saturnia. Lucius Marcius Philippus enjoyed another success on Sardinia , slowly winning

6656-402: The number of magistrates elected in any given year, and required that all newly elected quaestors gain automatic membership in the Senate. These two reforms were enacted primarily to allow Sulla to increase the size of the Senate from 300 to 600 senators. This also removed the need for the censor to draw up a list of senators, since there were always more than enough former magistrates to fill

6760-494: The objects found in the oldest graves, and supposed to date from about the 7th century BC, the cups of silver and silver-gilt and most of the gold and amber jewelry are Phoenician (possibly Carthaginian ), but the bronzes and some of the ivory articles seem to be of the Etruscan civilization . Praeneste was probably under the hegemony of Alba Longa while that city was the head of the Latin League . It withdrew from

6864-400: The origin of Praeneste to Ulysses , or to other fabled characters such as Caeculus , Telegonus , Erulus or Praenestus . The name probably derives from the word Praenesteus , referring to its overlooking location. Early burials show that the site was already occupied in the 8th or 7th century BC. The ancient necropolis lies on a plateau at the foot of the hill below the ancient town. Of

6968-648: The outlawed nobles and old Sullan supporters who had survived the Marian-Cinna regime flocked to his banner. The most prominent among them were Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius , Marcus Licinius Crassus , and Lucius Marcius Philippus . Metellus and Crassus did so at the head of their own independently-raised armies. Philippus, who was governing Sardinia , secured the island for the Sullan cause. Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey), son of Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo , raised three legions from among his father's veterans in his native Picenum and, defeating and outmanoeuvering

7072-417: The power to initiate legislation. Sulla then prohibited ex-tribunes from ever holding any other office, so ambitious individuals would no longer seek election to the Tribunate, since such an election would end their political career. Finally, Sulla revoked the power of the tribunes to veto acts of the Senate, although he left intact the tribunes' power to protect individual Roman citizens. Sulla then increased

7176-558: The previous day being executed on Sulla's orders; none of the captured were spared from execution. Soon after the Battle of the Colline Gate, Sulla had himself declared Dictator , and now held supreme power over the Republic. Marius tried to escape through the drains under Praeneste, but failed and committed suicide. The town surrendered; most of the defenders were executed, but Sulla spared the lives of its Roman citizens. Sulla and his lieutenants then campaigned all through Italy, mopping up

7280-554: The remaining resistance. The cities of Aesernia , Norba and Volterrae , all Marian strongholds were destroyed. The survivors of the Marian cause were given refuge on Sicily by Marcus Perperna , in Africa by Domitius Ahenobarbus and in Spain by Quintus Sertorius . Sulla sent Pompey to Sicily with a large force (six legions, 120 warships and 800 transport ships). According to Plutarch, Perpenna fled and left Sicily to Pompey. Carbo

7384-448: The remnants of his army to Capua . Sulla pursued him, but was stopped by Norbanus' consular colleague, Scipio Asiagenus, who was encamped at Capua. Scipio was unwilling to risk a battle with his opponent's battle-hardened army and welcomed Sulla's offer to negotiate. Quintus Sertorius , one of Scipio's legates, did not trust Sulla, and advised Scipio to force a decisive action. Instead, he was sent to Norbanus to explain that an armistice

7488-864: The school of the Huguenot Claude Goudimel . He also studied with Robin Mallapert and Firmin Lebel . He spent most of his career in the city. Palestrina came of age as a musician under the influence of the northern European style of polyphony , which owed its dominance in Italy primarily to two influential Netherlandish composers, Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez , who had spent significant portions of their careers there. Italy itself had yet to produce anyone of comparable fame or skill in polyphony. Orlando di Lasso , who accompanied Palestrina in his early years, also played an important role in

7592-497: The senate. To further solidify the prestige and authority of the Senate, Sulla transferred the control of the courts from the equites, who had held control since the Gracchi reforms, to the senators. This, along with the increase in the number of courts, further added to the power that was already held by the senators. Sulla also codified, and thus established definitively, the cursus honorum , which required an individual to reach

7696-474: The siege of Praeneste. He blocked an attempt by Damasippus to reach Marius the Younger. After Damasippus failure Carbo lost heart and fled to Sicily. With their leader gone, the remainder of the Marian forces united for one final stand. The Samnite general Pontius Telesinus and the Lucanian general Marcus Lamponius, commanding a very large army of Samnites and Lucanians, were trying to get to Praeneste to break

7800-524: The state and confiscating their property). Sulla immediately proscribed eighty persons without communicating with any magistrate. As this caused a general murmur, he let one day pass, and then proscribed two hundred and twenty more, and again on the third day as many. In an harangue to the people, he said, with reference to these measures, that he had proscribed all he could think of, and as to those who now escaped his memory, he would proscribe them at some future time. The proscriptions are widely perceived as

7904-462: The title of Prince of Palestrina. During the reign of Urban VIII, the title became interchangeable with that of Commander of the Papal Army ( Gonfalonier of the Church ) as the Barberini family controlled the papacy and the Palestrina principality. The Wars of Castro ended (while Taddeo Barberini held both titles) and members of the Barberini family (including Taddeo) fled into exile after

8008-415: The town by the forces of Sulla (82 BC). When the city was captured, Marius slew himself, the male inhabitants were massacred in cold blood, and a military colony was settled on part of its territory. From an inscription it appears that Sulla delegated the foundation of the new colony to Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus , who was consul in 73 BC. Within a decade the lands of the colonia had been assembled by

8112-614: The town, stood the ancient citadel, the site of which is now occupied by a few poor houses (Castel San Pietro) and a ruined medieval castle of the Colonna family. The view embraces the Monte Soratte , Rome, the Alban Hills , and the Pontinian Plain as far as the sea. Considerable portions of the southern wall of the ancient citadel, built in massive cyclopean masonry consisting of limestone blocks, are still visible; and

8216-496: The town. Neapolis fell to the Sullans through treachery; virtually the whole population was massacred. Consequently, Appian remarks that the towns nearest to Rome surrendered without a fight. As Sulla surrounded Rome with his troops, the gates were opened by the people and he took Rome without a fight, the remaining Marians having fled. Most of southern Italy now belonged to Sulla, though some cities, such as Praeneste, remained under siege. Sulla now set out for Etruria to

8320-408: The troops to murder Flaccus in 84 BC. In the meantime, the two Roman armies camped next to each other, and Sulla, not for the first time, encouraged his soldiers to spread dissension among Flaccus’ army. Many deserted to Sulla before Flaccus had arranged to pack up and move on to north, to threaten Mithridates’ northern dominions. In the meantime Sulla moved to intercept the new Pontic army and end

8424-463: The two walls, also polygonal, which formerly united the citadel with the town, can still be traced. A calendar, which according to Suetonius was set up by the grammarian Marcus Verrius Flaccus in the imperial forum of Praeneste (at the Madonna dell'Aquila), was discovered in 1771 in the ruins of the church of Saint Agapitus , where it had been used as building material. The cathedral, just below

8528-464: The war at Orchomenus . With Mithridates defeated for the moment and Cinna now dead as a result of a mutiny in Ancona, Sulla was determined to regain control of Rome from his enemies. In the spring of 83 BC Sulla landed his army in two divisions in southern Italy: one division at Brundisium and another at Tarentum . At Tarentum Sulla made sacrifices to the gods. As soon as he had set foot in Italy,

8632-479: The year 86 BC. Marius died a fortnight after and Cinna was left in sole control of Rome. Having managed this achievement, the Marians sent out Lucius Valerius Flaccus with an army to relieve Sulla of his command in the east. Flaccus had been given as second in command Gaius Flavius Fimbria , an individual whom history records had few virtues. According to Plutarch's biography on Sulla, Gaius Flavius Fimbra eventually agitated against his commanding officer and incited

8736-547: The years 83–82 BC. The war ended with a decisive battle just outside Rome itself. After the war the victorious Sulla made himself dictator of the Roman Republic . Sulla had achieved temporary control of Rome and Marius's exile to Africa following his first march on Rome, but departed soon afterwards to lead the First Mithridatic War . This departure allowed Gaius Marius and his son Gaius Marius

8840-664: The younger to return to Rome with an army and, with Lucius Cornelius Cinna , to wrest control of Rome back from Sulla's supporter Gnaeus Octavius during Sulla's absence. Based on the orders of Marius, some of his soldiers went through Rome killing the leading supporters of Sulla, including Octavius. Their heads were exhibited in the Forum. After five days, Cinna ordered his more disciplined troops to kill Marius's rampaging soldiers. All told some 100 Roman nobles had been murdered. Marius declared Sulla's reforms and laws invalid, officially exiled Sulla, had himself elected to Sulla's eastern command, and Cinna and himself elected consuls for

8944-525: Was able to ambush reinforcement on their way to Carrinas in Spoletium, killing 2,000 Marian soldiers. Carbo sent another army from Etruria to raise the siege of Praeneste. They were ambushed along the way by Pompey, who forced them back. A Marian attack on Metellus near Faventia went horribly wrong for them. This caused the Lucanians in Norbanus' army to contemplate to defect to Sulla. Their commander,

9048-412: Was able to compose prolifically until his death. He died in Rome of pleurisy on 2 February 1594. As was usual, Palestrina was buried on the same day he died, in a plain coffin with a lead plate on which was inscribed Ioannes Petrus Aloysius Praenestinus Musicae Princeps . A five-part Libera me Domine psalm for three choirs was sung at the funeral. Palestrina's funeral was held at St. Peter's, and he

9152-548: Was an Italian composer of late Renaissance music . The central representative of the Roman School , with Orlande de Lassus and Tomás Luis de Victoria , Palestrina is considered the leading composer of late 16th-century Europe. Primarily known for his masses and motets, which number over 105 and 250 respectively, Palestrina had a long-lasting influence on the development of church and secular music in Europe, especially on

9256-460: Was an ally of Domitius, was captured and executed and Hiempsal II restored to the throne of Numidia. Sulla sent Gaius Annius Luscus with several legions to take the Spanish provinces from Quintus Sertorius. After a brief resistance Sertorius and his men were expelled from the Iberian peninsula. Unfortunately for the Sullans, Sertorius would be back the following year (see: Sertorian War ). As

9360-624: Was born in the town of Palestrina , near Rome , then part of the Papal States , to Neapolitan parents, Santo and Palma Pierluigi, in 1525, possibly on 3 February. His mother died on 16 January 1536, when Palestrina was 10. Documents suggest that he first visited Rome in 1537, when he was listed as a chorister at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore , one of the papal basilicas of the Diocese of Rome , which allowed him to learn literature and music. In 1540, he moved to Rome, where he studied in

9464-605: Was buried beneath the floor of the basilica. His tomb was later covered by new construction and attempts to locate his grave have been unsuccessful. Italian composers Giovanni Maria Nanino and Gregorio Allegri , both of them disciples of his school, continued his works. Palestrina left hundreds of compositions, including 105 masses , 68 offertories , at least 140 madrigals and more than 300 motets . In addition, there are at least 72 hymns , 35 magnificats , 11 litanies , and four or five sets of lamentations . The Gloria melody from Palestrina's Magnificat Tertii Toni (1591)

9568-600: Was chiefly famed for its great Temple of Fortuna Primigenia connected with the oracle known as the Praenestine lots ( sortes praenestinae ). Archaeologists working in the 1950s were able to identify the area around the Cathedral and the Piazza Regina Margherita as the Forum of Ancient Praeneste. The buildings of the forum comprised a central temple, whose walls were re-used for the cathedral, and

9672-474: Was composed in order to persuade the Council of Trent that a draconian ban on the polyphonic treatment of text in sacred music (as opposed, that is, to a more directly intelligible homophonic treatment) was unnecessary. However, more recent scholarship shows that this mass was in fact composed before the cardinals convened to discuss the ban (possibly as much as 10 years before). Historical data indicates that

9776-475: Was confiscated and auctioned off. The proceeds from auctioned property more than made up for the cost of rewarding those who killed the proscribed, making Sulla even wealthier. Possibly to protect himself from future political retribution, Sulla had the sons and grandsons of the proscribed banned from running for political office, a restriction not removed for over 30 years. The young Gaius Julius Caesar , as Cinna's son-in-law, became one of Sulla's targets and fled

9880-458: Was defeated by Cincinnatus. Eventually in 354 and in 338 the Romans were victorious and Praeneste was punished by the loss of portions of its territory, becoming a city allied to Rome. As such, it furnished contingents to the Roman army, and Roman exiles were permitted to live at Praeneste, which grew prosperous. The roses of Praeneste were a byword for profusion and beauty. Præneste was situated on

9984-458: Was done in the 19th century by Giuseppe Baini , who published a monograph in 1828 which made Palestrina famous again and reinforced the already existing legend that he was the "Saviour of Church Music" during the reforms of the Council of Trent . 20th and 21st century scholarship by and large retains the view that Palestrina was a strong and refined composer whose music represents a summit of technical perfection. Contemporary analysis highlighted

10088-469: Was erected in the reign of Claudius , fragments of which can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum of Palestrina. The modern town is built on the ruins of the temple of Fortuna Primigenia. A bishop of Praeneste is first mentioned in 313. In 1297 the Colonna family , which had owned Praeneste (then known as Palestrina) from the eleventh century as a fief, revolted against Pope Boniface VIII . In

10192-604: Was in force and negotiations were under way. Sertorius made a small detour and captured the town of Suessa, which had gone over to the Sullan faction. When Sulla complained about this breach of trust, Scipio sent back the hostages Sulla had given as a sign of good faith. This behaviour by Scipio outraged Scipio's troops, who were already upset having to face Sulla's veterans. A deal was made between Scipio's soldiers and Sulla and they defected en masse , further swelling his ranks. The Consul and his son were found cowering in their tents and brought to Sulla, who released them after extracting

10296-511: Was only 26–28 years old at the time. In the respite from campaigning provided by winter, the Marians set about replenishing their forces. Quintus Sertorius levied men in Etruria , old veterans of Marius came out of retirement to fight under his son, and the Samnites gathered their warriors in support of Carbo, hoping to destroy Sulla, the man who defeated them in the Social War . Meanwhile, Sulla had sent Crassus to recruit troops from among

10400-534: Was razed to the ground. In Voltaire's novel Candide a woman claims to be the daughter of Pope Urban X and the Princess of Palestrina. A fictional account of Garibaldi's 1849 action at Palestrina appears in Geoffrey Trease 's novel Follow My Black Plume . Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (between 3 February 1525 and 2 February 1526 – 2 February 1594)

10504-673: Was soon discovered and arrested by Pompey, who "treated Carbo in his misfortunes with an unnatural insolence", taking Carbo in fetters to a tribunal he presided over, examining him closely "to the distress and vexation of the audience", and finally, sentencing him to death. Domitius Ahenobarbus held the Roman province of Africa (modern day Tunisia) for the Marians. While Pompey was still in Sicily, Sulla sent him orders to capture Africa as well. Pompey sailed to Utica (the province's Capital) and there he defeated Domitius . King Hiarbas of Numidia , who

10608-479: Was to not only deprive the Tribunate of power, but also of prestige. (Sulla himself had been officially deprived of his eastern command through the underhand activities of a tribune.) Over the previous three hundred years, the tribunes had directly challenged the patrician class and attempted to deprive it of power in favor of the plebeian class. Through Sulla's reforms to the Plebeian Council, tribunes lost

10712-469: Was unable to continue in the chapel as a layman . During the next decade, Palestrina held positions similar to his Julian Chapel appointment at other chapels and churches in Rome, notably St. John Lateran (1555–1560, a post previously held by Lassus ), and Santa Maria Maggiore (1561–1566). In 1571 he returned to the Julian Chapel and remained at St Peter's for the rest of his life. The decade of

10816-469: Was widely adopted and was the main basis of contrapuntal training in the 19th century, but Fux had introduced a number of simplifications to the Palestrina style, notably the obligatory use of a cantus firmus in semibreves , which were corrected by later authors such as Knud Jeppesen and R. O. Morris . Palestrina's music conforms in many ways to Fux's rules, particularly in the fifth species but does not fit his pedagogical format. The main insight, that

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