The Italian Tradition of Equestrian Art

At the mid point of the sixteenth century, a Neapolitan gentleman, Federico Grisone, published, for the first time, a printed book about the art of training the horse “for the use of war” and on the secrets to “emend his defects.” The work was a huge and immediate success and was soon emulated by other authors. The new literary genre of equestrian treatises was thus born and its tradition, with ups and downs, became alive and remains vital up to this day. It is no coincidence that this first work was printed in Italy because, between the fifteenth and sixteenth century, it was in that country that a new culture of the court, in which horse riding had a key role, was developed. During this time, Italian riding masters were sought out by the members of European courts. The scions of the European aristocracy ventured to Italy to perfect their skill in the art of riding with renowned masters.