The Colonna family was one of the most important in
sixteenth-century Rome yet its music patronage activities at that time have
largely escaped the attention of musicologists. Marc'Antonio II Colonna,
perhaps best known for his leadership at the Battle of Lepanto, was connected
to a number of musicians, several of whom were (or had been) military men. The
archive contains a number of autograph letters from musicians, including three
letters from Giulio Cesare Brancaccio, warrior and bass singer, of which two
place him in Rome in 1574 as Richard Wistreich surmised, and an interesting
letter from composer Sebastian Raval to Marc'Antonio's son, Cardinal Ascanio
Colonna, mentioning planned publications and recommending a young (and
unfortunately unidentified) harpsichord player.