Atto Melani [SEP] place of death
Atto Melani
Atto Melani (30 March 1626 in Pistoia – 4 January 1714 in Paris) was a famous Italian castrato opera singer, also employed as a diplomat and a spy.
Life.
Melani was born in Pistoia, the third of seven sons of a local bell-ringer. He was castrated at a young age so that he could become a singer. Three other brothers also became castrati, along with two cousins. His brothers Alessandro Melani and Jacopo Melani both became celebrated composers.
He soon attracted
wife effectively ended, and Charles continued a relationship with a noblewoman Margherita della Rovere, and also had affairs with men including the castrato Atto Melani. In his book "The Last Medici" Harold Acton records that his death occurred in the midst of lascivious intercourse.
Charles tried to revive the tradition of his family as patrons of the arts and to rebuild his family's art collection, which had been largely sold off by his forebears. He appointed in 1657 the Flemish painter and printmaker Daniel van den Dyck as his official