herited territories. Both office and territories passed to a
branch of the Bavarian Wittelbachs, who were confirmed
as counts palatine by the treaty of Pavia (1329). The
Golden Bull (1356) confirmed the count palatine as one of
the seven imperial electors. Frederick III, Elector Palatine,
established Calvinism in the Palatinate in 1563. The de-
feat of Frederick V (see WINTER KING) by Catholic forces in
the Thirty Years’ War led to a reduction of the elector pala-
tine’s powers, and the treaty of Rijswijk (1697) restored
Catholicism in the Palatinate.
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da (1525–1594) Italian
composer
Palestrina is arguably the most important composer of the
late 16th century and he was widely admired and imitated
in his day. Palestrina was probably born in the town of that
name outside Rome, and by 1537 was a choirboy at the
Roman church of Sta. Maria Maggiore. In 1544 he became
organist at the cathedral in Palestrina, where he remained
until 1551. In that year he was appointed maestro at St.
Peter’s, and in 1554 his first book of Masses, the earliest by
an Italian composer, was published. This was dedicated to
Pope Julius III, his most powerful patron. In 1555 he be-
came a member of the Cappella Sistina and maestro di cap-
pella at St. John Lateran, but left the latter post after a
dispute over funds for musicians (1560). He returned to
Sta. Maria Maggiore, and in the summer of 1564 organized
music at the Villa d’Este for Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este,
whose service he entered in 1567. His fame was spreading,
and he was offered the post of maestro at the court of Em-
peror Maximilian II in Vienna, but declined. He was also
patronized by the Gonzaga family in Mantua. In 1571
Palestrina returned to Rome, to the Cappella Giulia, and
remained there until his death.
Palestrina was a prolific composer; 104 Masses,
around 375 motets, and many other liturgical works sur-
vive. He also composed around 140 spiritual and secular
madrigals and eight ricercari. His sacred music, written in
a conservative but uniquely harmonious style much influ-
enced by the precepts of the Counter-Reformation, en-
sured Palestrina’s fame and earned him the sobriquet “The
Prince of Music.” The Council of Trent advised that sacred
texts set to music should be intelligible and that the music
should contain no secular elements; it is possible that the
famous Missa Papae Marcelli was composed for a commis-
sion of cardinals assembled to hear Masses and check that
the words were intelligible. Many of Palestrina’s early
Masses are based on cantus firmi, whereas the later ones
frequently employ the more modern “parody Mass” tech-
nique, and are based on pre-existing polyphonic composi-
tions by himself and other composers. Despite the
18th-century codification of the Palestrina style by Johann
Joseph Fux, his later works provide evidence of a devel-
oping musical trend which in its harmony and texture was
clearly heading in the direction of the BAROQUE.
Further reading: Gustave Reese, The New Grove High
Renaissance Masters: Josquin, Palestrina, Lassus, Byrd, Vic-
toria (London: Macmillan, 1984).Palingenius (Pier Angelo Manzoli) (c. 1500–c. 1543)
Italian poet
He was born at La Stellata, near Ferrara, and was attached
to the court circle of RENÉE DE FRANCE, who married Er-
cole d’Este in 1528. She provided a refuge for persecuted
French Calvinists at Ferrara, and Palingenius’s only work,
the Zodiacus vitae (1535–36), reflects the Calvinist out-
look. This extensive moralistic poem in Latin hexameters
was banned by the Inquisition, but was well received in
Protestant Europe. The Polish moralist Mikołaj REJbased
his Wizerunek (1558) on it, and an English translation by
Barnabe Googe (c. 1540–94) of the first six books ap-
peared in 1565.Palissy, Bernard (c. 1510–1590) French naturalist and
potter
Trained as a glass painter, Palissy settled in Saintes in
about 1540 and tried to develop his own distinctive style
of pottery. His pond-like dishes bordered with realistically
modeled animals soon won him commissions from the
French court. They also gained him, as a Huguenot, some
much needed protection. Although he escaped the 1572
St. Bartholomew massacre the respite proved only tempo-
rary; he was arrested in 1586 and died in the Bastille. In
1580 he published his Discours admirables in which “Prac-
tice” instructs “Theory” on, among other things, the ori-
gin of springs and rivers, and in which he argues for the
organic origin of marine fossils; the 10th section of this
work expounds his own discoveries in the arts of ceram-
ics and enameling.Palladio, Andrea (1508–1580) Italian architect
A native of Padua, Palladio was born Andrea di Pietro
della Gondola and began his career as a stonemason in Vi-
cenza, where much of his work survives. In 1536 he came
under the influence of the humanist poet Giangiorgio
TRISSINO, who became Palladio’s patron and was responsi-
ble for renaming the young mason after the mythological
patron of the arts, Pallas Athene. Trissino encouraged Pal-
ladio’s interest in the buildings of antiquity and intro-
duced him to leading scholars of the time, probably
including the mannerist architect Sebastiano SERLIO. In
1540–42 Palladio executed his first design for a villa, the
Villa Godi-Valmarana at Lonedo, north of Vicenza, which
incorporated many of the features of classical buildings,
such as symmetrical wings and a walled courtyard, that
were to become hallmarks of his style. At about this time
Palladio also designed his first palace, the Palazzo Civena,
which again made use of classical models.
In 1541 Palladio had visited Rome with Trissino for
the first time and made an extensive study of the many an-PPaallllaaddiioo,, AAnnddrreeaa 3 35577