At the table of an Italian chapel master of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, the meal was organized into two great services governed by the office. The *servizio di credenza* laid out, from the cold buffet, dishes prepared in advance — preserved fish, confections, spiced wines. The *servizio di cucina* brought hot dishes from the stoves — legume soups, rice, roasted meats on meat days. The rhythm followed the liturgical calendar: abundance on feast days, strict fasting during Lent, which Monteverdi, ordained a priest in 1632, observed rigorously.

Venice, queen of the spice trade, willingly married sweet and sour (*saor* with vinegar and raisins), cinnamon and cloves even in savory dishes and wine. This perfumed sweet-and-sour palette, imported by Venetian galleys, is the gustatory signature of the city where Monteverdi reigned over the music of St. Mark's.