Nicolo Gallo is the historical character I created and placed at the center of the madness that is the musical world of Papal Court under Pope Urban VIII. He was my way of solving the puzzle behind the anonymous composition “Homo fugit velut umbra” [Man flees like shadow]: a gorgeous tarantella about death.

Nicolo—a player of the theorbo and harpsichord, as well as a composer—was born in Barberino Val d’ Elsa. Barberino lies in the heart of Tuscany between Florence and Siena. A hilly location, it is surrounded by vineyards (Chianti) and olive groves and dotted with cypress trees.

Born on my birthday in 1610 he is only a year older than Leonora but four years older than Marc’Antonio Pasqualini (the man who will influence his music and is life in ways he could never have imagined).

In Rome, Nicolo takes rooms in the Via dei Chiavari) in the Rione Regola a district known for tradesmen, where the streets are still named for the crafts they practiced (e.g. Via dei Giubbonair, jacket/doublet makers). His neighborhood has some fantastic Palazzos (notably Farnese and Spada). He attends Sant’Andrea della Valle (the interior of which is not quite finished yet, but the gorgeous dome has already been painted).