In view of Leonello’s serious preparation as an amateur musician, standards for secular music were probably higher at Ferrara than at many rival Italian courts of the time. During Leonello’s ten-year rule, the main groups of secular musicians at the court were established. The groups remained essentially the same to the end of the century. To specialists, it is a commonplace that under Leonello and throughout the second half of the fifteenth century, Ferrara became a principal center for Italian court dance. This development of dance has not been seen within the context of Ferrarese court...
