This project, developed by Dr Laura Moretti, University of St Andrews, considers the viola da gamba in the context of sixteenth-century Italy, based on primary sources. Strongly interdisciplinary in nature, the project will focus on the history of the viola da gamba and its performance practices, and the contexts in which it developed in Italy in the sixteenth century. Particular attention will be given to treatises published in Italy during this period (including Ganassi, Ortiz, Conforti), the repertoire and the documented uses of the viola da gamba, both in contemporary reports and artistic representations. This website will gather all the relevant information and will function as a resource, which will be constantly updated, where readings and practical examples drawn from the original sources will be posted.

This is an ongoing project, and the website will therefore be updated on regular basis.

About me

I am an art and architectural historian, and a former professional cellist. My field of expertise is sixteenth-century Italy, with a specific focus on Venice. I have been working for several years on the relationship between architecture and music in Early Modern Italy. My current projects include a book entitled In the House of the Muses: Collection, Display and Performance in Early Modern Italy, and the research project Daniele Barbaro (1514-70): In and Beyond the Text, carried out in collaboration with the Centre d'Études Supérieures de la Renaissance, Tours and the Biblioteca Marciana, Venice.

See here my Institutional profile & contact details