Jeronimo Bassano
Jeronimo Bassano was an Italian musician in the Republic of Venice who is notable as the patriarch of a family of musicians: five of his sons, Anthony, Alvise, Jasper, John (Giovanni), and Baptista Bassano, moved from Venice to England to serve in the court of King Henry VIII. They performed as a recorder consort. Jacomo Bassano was his only son to keep his primary residence in Venice. Bassano never moved, and he was listed in Venice as a "Maestro of the trumpets and shawms." He is believed to be the maternal grandfather of composer Giovanni Bassano.
Jeronimo Bassano
- Born
- 1500 · Bassano del Grappa.
- Died
- 1600 · Venice.
- Nationality
- Republic of Venice
- Occupation
- musician
In this article
Life
Jeronimo was the son of Baptista "Piva" of Bassano del Grappa, a town 35 miles from Venice. Baptista was a musician who played the piva, a small bagpipe. He was the son of Andrea de Crespano, who was from the village of Crespano, about nine miles east of Bassano. Andrea, Baptista, and Jeronimo were all described as musicians and musical instrument makers. At the beginning of the 16th century, Jeronimo moved from Bassano to Venice, where he was described as "Maestro Hieronimo", a piffero player to the Doge of Venice between 1506 and 1512. The historian A.L. Rowse, in correspondence to The Times in 1973, claimed that the Bassanos were Jewish. Roger Prior claimed in a 1995 book co-authored with Dr. David Lasocki that the family were converted Jews. But, Giulio M. Ongaro in his "New Documents on the Bassano Family" (1992) in Early Music and Alessio Ruffatti argue that the Bassanos who moved to England might not have been Jewish.
Family tree
• Jeronimo Bassano, piffero player to the Doge of Venice between 1506 and 1512 • Alvise (died London, 15–31 Aug 1554), worked for the Scuola di San Marco, Venice in 1515, and the Concerto Palatino in Bologna between 1519 and 1521 • Augustine (bur. London, Oct 24, 1604) • Lodovico (bur. London, July 18, 1593) • Jasper [Gasparo] (bur. London, 8 May 1577) • John [Zuane] (died Venice, Sept–Dec 1570) • [[Anthony Bassano|Anthony [Antonio] (i)]] (bur. London, 19 Oct 1574) • Mark Anthony (born London, 10 Jan 1546; died London, 11 Sep 1599) • Arthur (born London, 31 Oct 1547; bur. London, 10 Sept 1624) • Anthony (ii) (born London, 15 Oct 1579; bur. London, 22 Apr 1658) • Andrea (born London, 12 Aug 1554; bur. Horne, Surrey, 3 Aug 1626) • Thomas (?bap. London, 27 Feb 1589; bur. London, 29 Sept 1617) • Edward (i) (born London, 19 Oct 1551; bur. London, 25 May 1615) • Jeronimo (ii) (born London, March 11, 1559; bur. Waltham Abbey, Essex, Aug 22, 1635) • Scipio (bap. London, 11 Dec 1586; died London, 26 Nov 1613) • Edward (ii) (bap. London, 28 Dec 1588; died London, 22 Oct 1638) • Henry (bap. London, 8 April 1597; bur. London, 29 Aug 1665) • Jacomo (in Venice between 1542 and 1545) • Giovanni Bassano (grandson of Jacomo, born?Venice, 1560/61; died Venice, Aug 16, 1617) • Baptista (bur. London, 11 April 1576)
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Bassano del Grappa.
Birth place
Venice.
Death place
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Jeronimo Bassano, revision 1366496424 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Lasocki, David, with Roger Prior, The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665 (Cambridge: Scolar Press, 1995), pp. 217, 251-256.
- 2.Pio, Stefano. Viol and Lute Makers of Venice 1490 -1630. Venice research. 132–147. 2012. 9788890725203.
- 3.Ruffatti, Alessio. La Famiglia Piva-Bassano Nei Document Degli Archevi Di Bassano Del Grappa. Musica e Storia. 6. 2. 2 December 1998.
- 4."Revealed At Last, Shakespeare's Dark Lady.", The Times January 29, 1973: 12.
- 5.David Lasocki; Roger Prior: The Bassanos: Venetian Musicians and Instrument Makers in England, 1531-1665, Aldershot, Hampshire: Scolar Press (1995)
- 6.Ongaro, Giulio M. New Documents on the Bassano Family. Early Music. 20. 3. 409–13. August 1992. 10.1093/earlyj/XX.3.409.
- 7.Ruffatti, Alessio. "Italian Musicians at the Tudor Court--Were They Really Jews?", Jewish Historical Studies 35 (1996-1998): 1-14., Jewish Historical Society of England
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 24 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
41,877 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Jerome RosePerson
- Jerome SmithPerson
- Jérôme-Joseph de MomignyPerson
- Jeronimas KačinskasPerson
- Jerónimo Francisco de LimaPerson
- Jerónimo GiménezPerson
- Jerrod NiemannPerson
- Jerrold ImmelPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Jeronimo Bassano?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.