Giovanni Paolo Foscarini

Who is Giovanni Paolo Foscarini?

Giovanni Paolo Foscarini was an Italian guitarist, lutenist, theorist and composer.

A note at the end of the list of contents in his earliest surviving guitar book Intavolatura di chitarra spagnola. Libro secondo refers to him a Musico, e Sonatore, di Liuto e Tiorba, della Venerabile Compagnia del Saatissimo [sic] Sacramento d'Ancona. He was also a member of the Accademia dei Caliginosi in Ancona, identifying himself in his earlier books only by the name of the society together with his own academic name Il Furioso. In the introduction to his third book printed in about 1630 he claims to be well known as a lutenist both in Italy and abroad, especially at the court of the Archduke Alberto in the Spanish Netherlands. Archduke Albert, a nephew of Philip II of Spain, was governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1595 until his death in 1621. Foscarini must have been in the Netherlands sometime before that date. He was active in Rome, Venice, Brussels, and Paris Letters which he wrote to the Dutch scholar, Constanijn Huygens from Paris at the beginning of 1649 give some information about his later years. He was planning to travel to Italy, but was ill in bed and without funds for the journey. He may have died soon after.