Background
Nanino was born in Tivoli, and served as a boy soprano in the cathedral at Viterbo.
Nanino was born in Tivoli, and served as a boy soprano in the cathedral at Viterbo.
In the 1560s he probably studied with Palestrina at San Luigi de" Francesi in Rome. At any rate, he became maestro di cappella there after Palestrina left.
He was the older brother of composer Giovanni Bernardino Nanino. In 1577 he joined the papal choir as a tenor, and remained in the choir for the rest of his life, occasionally taking the rotating post of maestro di cappella.
He was a member of the Roman School of composers, and was the most influential music teacher in Rome in the late 16th century.