ANTONIO VIVALDI “il Prete rosso” musico di Venezia

1678 Venice - 1741 Vienna

ANTONIO VIVALDI Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born on 4 March 1678 in the parish of San Giovanni in Bragora in Venice. The Vivaldi family probably originated from Genoa, where there is evidence that they were both soldiers, sailors, officers and even a doge. It is safe to say, however, that Vivaldi's grandfather came from the city of Brescia and was a baker. He settled in Venice in 1666 with his family and three sons, the eldest of which was Antonio Vivaldi's father, Giovanni Battista. In 1676 Giovanni married Camilla Calicchio, the daughter of a tailor living in the parish of San Giovanni in Bragora in the district of Castello in Venice, not far from the Ospedale della Pietà, where Antonio Vivaldi would later develop one of Europe's finest orchestras. Vivaldi's father was both a barber and violinist by profession. As a violinist, he played in St. Mark's Basilica and formed a music society, the "Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia", for Venice's top musicians and composers such as Giovanni Legrenzi and violin virtuosos such as the brothers Lorenzo and Giovanni Battista Somis: all three later to become Antonio Vivaldi's teachers. "IL PRETE ROSSO "  Antonio Vivaldi was the oldest among seven siblings (three sisters and three brothers) and was probably, apart from his father, the only musician. Vivaldi first trained for the priesthood, becoming known as "Il Prete Rosso," (the red priest) because of his striking hair colour. But he could only engage in the profession of a priest for a short time since he suffered from chronic asthmatic bronchitis. Instead, Vivaldi became Maestro del Violino and Headmaster of the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice: a home for orphaned girls. There he worked for 40 years and developed one of the most prestigious orchestras of its time. In 1725, Vivaldi wrote the hugely successful “The Four Seasons” and the concerts at La Pietà became famous throughout Europe.

Veduti veneziani del Settecento di Canaletto - Venetian views from the 18th century by Canaletto