Born in the Marche in 1510, Felice Peretti spent many formative years in the Franciscan Order. After a period as Apostolic Inquisitor in Venice, he was called to the Holy Office in Rome. He was appointed Cardinal in 1570 and, without entering into conclave, elected Pope in April 1585. While still at Sant’Anna, Tasso started dedicating poetry to him following his election, first on Cesare d’Este’s visit to Rome (Rime, 1291), and later with greater frequency during the periods he spent in Rome after leaving Mantua in November 1587. His encomiastic poems include canzone 1389 (“Come posso io spiegar del basso ingegno / le vele in alto e col mio tardo carme / così pronto mostrame / ch’i’ solchi di tua lode il mar profondo?”) and sonnet 1390 (“Al papa, pregandolo che abbia protezione di lui”), but also fifty octaves composed in 1588 (Rime, 1388, with the opening line Te Sisto io canto e te chiamo cantando), one of the best of his later encomiastic poems and written with the unsuccessful goal of obtaining direct patronage from the papal court. He also composed a series of sonnets on the major urban building projects with which Sixtus V transformed Rome (Rime, 1391; also 1427-29). Completing the picture are the many compositions for Alessandro Damasceni, Cardinal Montalto, the Pontiff’s nephew, and the Tempio for Flavia Peretti Orsina.

Portrait of Sixtus V (artist unknown), Montalto delle Marche, Pinacoteca Civica