Seite - 788 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Band 2

Chapter 14788 nobility who were to attend an impending meeting of the duchy’s Estates, but again this appears not to have met with any success.138 Perhaps for that reason he contemplated selling his smaller house in the suburb of St Ulrich, the house in which he actually lived: that at least seems the most plausible explanation for his request, a few months before his death, to the Chamber of accounts of Lower Austria, to delegate some of the Emperor’s ‘Pauleute’ in Vienna— probably an architect, a master-mason and one or two relevant craftsmen—to provide an estimate of the value of that house.139 It is clear that most or all of Strada’s efforts to obtain funding were in vain, because none of the books mentioned in this last copyright privilege or in the Index sive catalogus had been published under his name or imprint by the time he died in the autumn of 1588.140 In view of the complicated testament, which was certain to lead to litiga- tion, Strada’s studio was put under seal pending the opening of the will.141 The reading of the will took place in the presence of a representative of the Land- marschall only on 28 September 1590: almost two years after Strada’s death! The family was represented by Paolo Strada, also representing his half-brother and -sister who were still under age, and by Ottavio. Even before that, Ottavio had already commenced contesting the will, as is evident from his reference in 138 Doc. 1586-03-12, request presented to the Landmarschall in person. Members of the Austrian nobility were the most obvious potential buyers of the house: as a Freihaus its ownership was nominally restricted to noblemen and to ecclesiastical institutions. 139 Doc. 1588-02-18, request to the Niederösterreichische Kammer, which was conceded. 140 Strada died on or around September 6 of 1588, according to a letter from Ottavio Strada to Alfonso ii d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, dated from Prague, the 26th of that month: ‘Non o anche potuto mancare di avisar V.A.S. come mio padre che era Antiquario di S.M.C. et servidor di V.A. è morto fra 20 giorni, iddio gli dia pace al anima sua’. (Doc 1588-09-26). Contrary to an implication in Straka 1916, p. 21, followed by Lietzmann 1997, p. 394, the letter does not mention the place of Strada’s decease and there is no reason to assume that Strada died elsewhere than in Vienna. Lietzmann’s hypothesis that Strada would have reconciled himself with Ottavio, moved to Prague and made a new testament is not only unlikely, but expressly contradicted by the fact that the 1584 testament was put into execution, by Ottavio’s litigation with his brother Paolo, and by his references to objects kept in his father’s studio in Vienna to which he had no access (cf. below). Ottavio an- nounced his father’s death in a similar letter to Belisario Vinta, secretary of Grand Duke Ferdinando i of Tuscany, Prague 6 December 1588: ‘Questa è sola per salutar la S.V. molto ill.re et offerirgli li mei servicij, con avisarla come sonno alcune settimane che morì il mio padre, che stato Antiquario di questa Augustissima Casa, già 38 anni, el quel è stato af- fectionatissimo servidor di quella, et grand amico’ (asf, Medici del Principato 810, f. 129). 141 Ottavio Strada to Belisario Vinta, secretary of Grand Duke Ferdinando i of Tuscany, Prague 10 April 1590, writing about some books of drawings of his father’s: ‘…et molte volte S.M.C. mi fa domandare de questi libri, dove sempre trovo scusa che sonno in Vienna nel studio serratij…’ (asf, Medici del Principato 814, f. 343).