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‘On 1 October 1518, Cardinal Cornaro and Cardinal Pisani left Venice for Rome; they went by water to Chioggia, then set out on horseback.’ Thus begins the diary entry of a young Venetian patrician, Marcantonio Michiel, who was himself a member of the travelling party. Twenty-five days later they arrived in Rome, where Michiel was to stay for two years. During this period he noted in his diary both political events in Rome and news from Venice, but – unlike many diarists – he was keenly interested in art and music, and he also recorded detailed descriptions of Roman festivities. Having been brought up in Venice, with its magnificent state pageantry, he was prepared to appreciate Roman ceremonial, both civic and religious, and, with his entrée to the papal court, he was privileged to be present at private entertainments. For some of these occasions we have eye-witness accounts by other observers, but for several Michiel seems to be the only source known so far. He enlarges our picture of the music-loving pope and highlights the activities of Leo's private musicians. His reports of musical performances add new information to our meagre knowledge of early sixteenth-century instrumentation.

On the day before Christmas in 1520, the Venetian organist Giovanni da Legge wrote to his friend and mentor, the theorist Giovanni del Lago:I should like you to send me here in Rome ‘quella bella cosa’ by Tinctoris that you wanted to give me when I left [Venice]. At that time you told me you had a resolution that you had made before for the late Zampiero. I should really like to have it together with some explanation so that I could understand the reasons for the resolution, for which I should be much obliged to you. I want to see what some worthy men here have to say about it.