Francesco Canova da Milano (also known as "Il Divino", (1497 -1543) was an Italian lutenist and composer born in Monza, a small city some 15 km north-northeast of Milan. Da Milano worked for the papal court for almost all of his career. Da Milano was heralded throughout Europe as the foremost lute composer of his time And he was at the forefront of the musicians who established the lute as a vehicle for polyphonic composition in the early 16th century of the Italian Renaissance. His music represents the transition from the loose improvisational style of his predecessors to the more refined polyphonic textures of later lute music.

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