Giacomo BoncompagniGiacomo Boncompagni (also Jacopo Boncompagni; 8 May 1548 – 18 August 1612) was an Italian feudal lord of the 16th century, the illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII (Ugo Boncompagni). He was also Duke of Sora, Aquino, Arce and Arpino, and Marquess of Vignola. A member of the Boncompagni family, he was a patron of arts and culture. Pierluigi da Palestrina dedicated to him the first book of Madrigals. He was also a friend of another composer, Vincenzo Ruffo.
Council of TrentThe Council of Trent (Latin: Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), in Northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most impressive embodiment of the ideals of the Counter-Reformation."
Alessandro Farnese (cardinal)Alessandro Farnese (5 October 1520 – 2 March 1589) was an Italian cardinal, diplomat, and a great collector and patron of the arts. Farnese was the grandson of Pope Paul III (who also bore the name Alessandro Farnese), and the son of Pier Luigi Farnese, Duke of Parma, who was murdered in 1547. He should not be confused with his nephew, Alessandro Farnese, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, and the great-grandson of Pope Paul III.
Charles BorromeoCharles Borromeo (Italian: Carlo Borromeo; Latin: Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a cardinal in 1560. Borromeo founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation together with Ignatius of Loyola and Philip Neri.
Gregorian calendarInternationally accepted civil calendar
Civil calendarThe civil calendar is the calendar, or possibly one of several calendars, used within a country for civil, official, or administrative purposes. The civil calendar is almost always used for general purposes by people and private organizations. The most widespread civil calendar and de facto international standard is the Gregorian calendar.
Papal StatesToday part ofFranceItalyVatican CityThe Papal States ( ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major Italian states from the 8th century until the unification of Italy, which took place between 1859 and 1870, culminating in their incorporation into the Kingdom of Italy.
Catholic ChurchChristian church based in Rome
BolognaBologna (Bolognese: Bulåggna) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy, with 391,473 inhabitants from 150 different nationalities. Its metropolitan province is home to more than 1 million people as of 2026. Bologna is most famous for being the home to the oldest university in continuous operation, the University of Bologna, established in AD 1088.
House of BoncompagniThe House of Boncompagni is a princely family of the Italian nobility which settled in Bologna in around the 14th century, but was probably originally from Umbria. In 1572, Ugo Boncompagni was elected pope, taking the name Gregory XIII, and the family prospered. In 1579, the pope bought the Duchy of Sora from the Della Rovere family for his son Giacomo, whose descendants reigned there as dukes until 1796.
Italian languageRomance languageItalian (italiano, pronounced, or lingua italiana, pronounced) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It is a standardised form of literary Florentine Tuscan and, together with Sardinian, is the least differentiated language from Latin. Current estimates indicate that between 68 and 85 million people speak Italian, including approximately 64 million native speakers as of 2024.
LatinLatin (lingua Latina or Latinum) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language in the Italian Peninsula and subsequently throughout the Roman Empire.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.