Page - 50 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 1

Chapter �50 his son, Don Clemente, this was very probably the larger part, and apart from Simone’s financial assets may well have included a further house, probably his chief residence, in Mantua. The burial in the church or cemetery of Santa Maria delle Grazie that Simone ordained in his will—‘honourably, according to his condition and means, with eight priests’—certainly was not that of a pauper or a modest contadino.16 All this property would in the end come to Rinaldo Strada, who apart from what he may have inherited from his own fa- ther, will have considerably added to his fortune: after all, of all possible offices, his function as collector of the revenue for the Gonzaga was most likely to add considerably to its incumbent’s prosperity. In 1564 his widow did not live in the house in the Contrada della Bue, but in another house in the Contrada della Serpa, which may well have been the family’s principal residence, inhabited by Don Clemente until his death. Altogether it is likely that Jacopo’s parents, if not wealthy, were at least quite well to do, and this assumption is corroborated by the fact that Jacopo, who had to share his inheritance with two brothers and two sisters, very shortly after his father’s death began constructing his impos- ing mansion in Vienna.17 1.2 Mantua and the Gonzaga It is very unfortunate that almost nothing is known of Strada’s youth and his education: the earliest direct reference to his existence we have dates only from 1546, when he had already been settled in Southern Germany for some years, and of course had had ample time both to finish any formal education he may have received, to complete his training as an artist and possibly to absolve an apprenticeship as a goldsmith. The following sketch of Strada’s formative years is therefore largely hypothetical: it is based in part on data culled from sources dating from later years—in particular Strada’s own correspondence and writings—and in part on the indications provided by the facts of his later career. In attempting to fill in the blank spots I will propose some explanations that appear the most probable in view of the few data available, and of custom and practice of Strada’s milieu and epoch. 16 ‘Egregius vir ser Simon de la Strata <…> devote recommendavit corpus vero suum cum ab eo anima separata fuerit seppelire voluit in ecclesia sive cimeterio Domine Sancte Mariae Gratiarum extra Curtatonam honorefice secundum eius conditionem et facultatum cum octo presbiteros’ [will as cited above, note 7]. 17 Strada’s house in Vienna is discussed in detail below, Chapter 7. Strada’ early prosperity may in in part have been due to what he inherited from his mother.