11 Facts About Giulio Strozzi

Giulio Strozzi was a Venetian poet and libretto writer.

Giulio Strozzi's libretti were put to music by composers like Claudio Monteverdi, Francesco Cavalli, Francesco Manelli, and Francesco Sacrati.

Giulio Strozzi was a bastard, and later legitimized, son of Roberto Strozzi, from the Strozzi family.

Giulio Strozzi lived and worked in Rome, Padua and Urbino before returning to Venice in the 1620s.

Giulio Strozzi wrote poetry and plays, but is best remembered as one of the first writers of libretti, the texts used for all kinds of musical plays but most specifically opera.

Giulio Strozzi's earliest known work was in 1609, an oration for the burial of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, for whom he organized the burial rites.

Giulio Strozzi wrote a translation of the Spanish Lazarillo de Tormes which remained unpublished.

Giulio Strozzi wrote La finta pazza Licori for Claudio Monteverdi in 1627.

Giulio Strozzi wrote the libretto for the opening of the Teatro Santi Giovanni e Paolo in 1639, and for the 1641 opening of the Teatro Novissimo.

Giulio Strozzi was a member of the Accademia degli Incogniti in Venice.

Giulio Strozzi was the founder of some cultural "academies", gatherings of like-minded intellectuals; these included the Ordinati during his stay in Rome, and the Dubbiosi in Venice.