Italian classical music is difficult to do if everyone is singing a melody at the same time; thus, polyphony gave way to homophony, and early opera consisted of relatively simple melodies with texts about Greek mythology, sung in Italian and supported by simple harmonies. The important city in Italy in this development of music in the 16th century was Florence. (See also: Florentine Camerata, Vincenzo Galilei, Jacopo Peri, Palestrina, Arcangelo Corelli.) Besides Florence, two other Italian cities are particularly worthy of mention in the period around 1600. There is somewhat of a friendly rivalry between advocates of the two cities as to which
Jacopo Coppi painted in Rome and Bologna. Vasari mentions that he helped paint the decorations for the funeral of his master. Among his works are frescoes (1577) for the tribune of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome; a painting of "Ecce Homo" for the church of Santa Croce in Florence, and a canvas of the Redeemer (1579) for the church of San Salvatore in Bologna. Jacopo Coppi Jacopo Coppi, also called "Giacomo Coppi" or "'Jacopo del Meglio'" ("the Best") (Peretola, 1523 - 1591) was an Italian painter, mainly active in Florence and Rome in a Mannerist style. Other sources call him Giacinto