Farnesina, Villa A villa outside Rome, built for the
Sienese banker Agostino CHIGI. A fine example of Renais-
sance architecture, the villa was constructed between
1509 and 1521 by Baldassare PERUZZI, decorated by
RAPHAELand SODOMA, and set in gardens that reached to
the bank of the Tiber. The building’s two stories were di-
vided into equal bays by Tuscan pilasters, while the exte-
rior walls were also covered with fresco decorations. The
villa acquired its modern name after its purchase (1580)
by the great patron of the arts Cardinal Alessandro Far-
nese.
Farrant, Richard (c. 1528–1580) English composer
He appears to have joined the Chapel Royal under Edward
VI and retained his post under Mary I, but resigned in
1564 to direct the music at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
He was appointed master of the Chapel Royal choristers in
1569, and kept his position as well as that in Windsor
until his death. A service and three anthems are all that re-
main of his church music. Although not numerous, his
works were popular and survive in a large number of
sources. Farrant formed a dramatic company from the
Windsor choristers; he wrote several plays, none of which
survives.
Fauchet, Claude (c. 1530–c. 1602) French magistrate
and historian
After studying law in his native Paris and in Orleans,
Fauchet embarked on a successful legal career, rising to
the office of president of the cour des monnaies (1581). He
also made his name as a historian with such works as An-
tiquités gauloises et françaises (1579–1602) and Recueil de
l’origine de la langue et poésie française (1581), a major
contribution to French literary history. Forced to leave
Paris after the JOURNÉE DES BARRICADES(1588), Fauchet
returned in 1594 to find his library pillaged and his for-
tune ruined. He died in poverty.
Faust, legend of The story of a theologian whose thirst
for knowledge leads him to sorcery and a pact with the
Devil. In 1587 the Frankfurt printer Johann Spies pub-
lished the anonymous and immediately popular Historia
von D. Johann Fausten. Little is known about the historical
George Faust (or Sabellicus; c. 1480–1540), a scholar and
quack whose presence is recorded at various German uni-
versities in the early 16th century. Tales of his exploits
combined with material from elsewhere (such as the motif
of the pact with the Devil and the contemporary interest
in witchcraft) to produce a legend that has resounded in
literature ever since. Faust’s demonic companion,
Mephistopheles, for 24 years shows him the world and its
pleasures, helps him with magic pranks (an important el-
ement in comic treatments of the theme), brings him
Helen of Troy as his mistress—and ultimately claims his
soul. The power of the legend lay in its combination of Re-
naissance and Reformation ideas. It is the ungodly arro-
gance of Faust’s intellectural curiosity (and especially his
interest in the pagan classical world) which in the eyes of
the moralizing Lutheran author merits his damnation.
The Historia was translated into English before 1592 and
inspired MARLOWE’s tragedy Dr Faustus.
Further reading: Eliza M. Butler, The Fortunes of
Faust (Cambridge, U.K., Cambridge University Press,
1952; new ed. Stroud, U.K.: Sutton, 1998).Fedele, Cassandra (1465–1558) Venetian writer, orator,
and humanist
Her scholarly father encouraged her studies in Latin,
Greek, classics, philosophy, and rhetoric. Her ability to
conduct intellectual dialogues led to her presentation of a
Latin oration at Padua university in 1487, and the begin-
ning of an exchange of letters with leading European reli-
gious and secular scholars, as well as FERDINAND II AND
ISABELLA Iof Spain. Her humanist studies were cut short
by her marriage (c. 1497) and five years (1515–20) spent
living on Corfu. Her husband died after the couple’s return
to Venice, and, although she gave an oration before the
Venetian Senate in 1521, Fedele’s life thereafter was taken
up with supporting her widowed mother and other rela-
tives. Her appeal for financial assistance from the pope
brought an appointment as lay matron of a Venetian or-
phanage. She delivered her last public oration at age 91,
again before the Venetian Senate, to the queen of Poland.
Ninety-nine of her many letters written before her mar-
riage were published posthumously as Epistolae et ora-
tiones (1636).Feliciano, Felice (1433–c. 1479) Italian epigraphist,
antiquary, and calligrapher
Feliciano was born in Verona. At some time in the 1460s
he devised a way to form monumental Roman capitals on
mathematical rules derived from the study of ancient in-
scriptions at Rome, Ravenna, and elsewhere; a collection
of these, dedicated to MANTEGNA, has survived in manu-
script. The effect of these studies can be seen in inscrip-
tions on many Renaissance commemorative statues. He
also wrote a number of calligraphic manuscripts in a hand
that exercised a considerable influence over later manuals
of penmanship. His interest in antiquities earned him the
name “L’Antiquario.” He also wrote poetry in the vernacu-
lar, and his interests included printing and alchemy, the
latter causing him to spend much time and money on the
search for the philosopher’s stone.Feltre, Vittorino da See VITTORINO DA FELTREFerdinand I (1503–1564) Holy Roman Emperor
(1558–64)
Ferdinand was born at Alcalá de Henares, the younger
brother of Emperor CHARLES V, whose career and person-117766 FFaarrnneessiinnaa,, VViillllaa