XXVI, 322 pp.; 21 x 14,8 cm

Giustiniano Borra, a priest, authored a very informative journal, drawing a clear picture of the varied and lively Parma community during the final forty years of the almost two- century-long Farnese family rule (1694-1732). This historical source has been seldom and only partly studied so far. Borra did not focus on major events; he apparently walked the city streets each day, taking notice of even the most miniscule events happening to people, which he then reported in full detail. His journal is an invaluable tool integrating current studies on the Parma society, institutions, and traditions soon before and after 1700. This volume collects all relevant passages making explicit reference to sacred and secular music practices, or chronicling events in culture and entertainment, such as game conversations, carriage rides, parties, or fireworks.

Ivano Bettin graduated in 2004 in Modern Literature at the Milan University, where he then got his Ph.D. in History and Criticism of Art and Environment Heritage (Music area). An active researcher, mainly on 17th- to 19th-century Italian music, he produced scholarly editions such as Vivaldi’s La Dorilla and Pergolesi’s Il Flaminio, both for Ricordi, wrote essays issued by Lim, Led, Ets, SEdM, Pàtron, Centro Studi Antoniani, and others, as well as encyclopedia entries for the Dizionario biografico degli italiani and Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. A professional journalist, he is also editor in the Classical Music Division of Hal Leonard Europe.