Atto Melani

Atto Melani (30 March 1626, in Pistoia – 4 January 1714, in Paris) was a famous Italian castrato opera singer, also employed as a diplomat and a spy.

His fame took Melani to France and an introduction to the court of Louis XIV, effectively presented as a gift from the Medici dukes to the opera-loving Queen Anne.

[4] In 1657, he was sent by Mazarin to Bavaria to persuade the prince elector Ferdinand, a friend and ally of France, to put himself forward as candidate for Holy Roman Emperor.

He entered the formal service of Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi, also from Pistoia, but continued to enjoy favour with Maria Mancini (another niece of Mazarin), with whom he maintained a correspondence of more than forty years.

In 1668, Melani sang publicly for the last time at Palazzo Colonna, and from then on dedicated himself exclusively to politics and diplomacy, writing several books on Rome, advising the King of France, mediating with the German princes, and acting as go-between among the Italian States.

Melani has been the object in recent years in the novels by Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti beginning with Imprimatur and continuing with Secretum and Veritas.