About Myntha

Myntha is a relational database web app designed by Anna Bianco in the context of her PhD research at Leiden University (Academy of Creative and Performing Arts). The technical aspects of the project have been developed by Chris Handy, Leiden University IFZ.

Myntha focuses on the visual dimension of the Italian cantata, documenting, describing, and connecting the decorative drawings found in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century cantata manuscripts. The database allows users to trace relationships between:

• Manuscript decorations (drawings, ornaments, vignettes)
• Their literary-musical context (the cantata texts they accompany)
• Their visual sources (prints, engravings, or other models)

By linking these layers, Myntha highlights the interplay between imagery, poetry, and cultural networks in early modern Europe.

Tip: try a full-text search on people and art-object descriptions — for example, Filippo Juvarra.