Giuliano Paratico

Giuliano Paratico was a musician living in Brescia, Northern Italy. He was born around the year 1550 and died around 1616. He was a notary by profession but also an accomplished musician.

His instrument of choice was the chitarrone, and according to contemporaries had a sweet voice. He published 2 books about his compositions, mainly for three voices songs.He was a close friend of Angelo Grillo Spinola, prelate, poet, friend and confessor of Torquato Tasso. The letters of Grillo make still an interesting reading today. Grillo was instrumental in organizing the arrival of the first group of Japanese Jesuit students in the West, perhaps through his cousin Carlo Spinola s.j. later a martyr at Nagasaki.

The Paratico family appears in the Golden Book of Nobility of Brescia at the beginning of the XVI century, but it seems that they were expelled later on, perhaps because, following the Spanish fashion, being a Noble means that you could not have a real profession. They were very strict on this point and there was a strong debate concerning the fact that even a Court Judge could not be a nobleman.

The Paratico family took the name from the village of Paratico, near Sarnico. It was a common practice for successful captains during the XII-XIII century to move to Brescia retaining their village of origin as a family name (da) Paratico.

Anna Martellotti, Elio Durante ""Le canzonette a tre voci di Giuliano Paratico". Un amico bresciano di don Angelo Grillo" SPES, Firenze 2002.