Fabritio Caroso (1526–1605)

Fabritio Caroso da Sermoneta was an Italian Renaissance dancing master and a composer or transcriber of dance music. Not much is known about Caroso's early years, but it seems likely he was born in Sermoneta, Italy, a village southeast of Rome. His family was of working-class means, but apparently provided young Fabritio with a good education. By his late twenties, Caroso had become a master of dance and was in the service of the Duchess of Sermoneta, Felice Maria Orsina Caetana. Because of the familial connections of the Duchess, Caroso worked in Rome and gained additional patrons from her relatives in the Orsini family.