(EN) The Prague's Lesser Town house of count Václav Michna of Vacínov (1611?-1667) pertains to be one of the biggest mysteries of the history of 17th-century architecture in Bohemia, the attention of a number of scholars notwithstanding. The grandiosity of the proposed plan, known in its entirety from a later copy, as well as the imposing design of the house's east front, distinguishing itself by a skilful use of the classical orders, indicate an employment of a designer of a rather surprising capacity and adroitness, given the time and place - Prague in the sixteen- thirties and sixteen-forties. The only incontestable clue, that suggests itself to a solver of this riddle, remains to be the date of the completion of the palace's stucco decoration (1644) and the name of its author, Domenico Galli (died 1675). The anonymity of the designing architect led the previous researchers to search for formal analogies in the Italian architectural production, quite without convincing results. The principal intention of this thesis, aside from an assessment of the previous findings and an attempt for a more accurate placement of the building in the context of Italian architecture, is rather to propose a reading of its meaning, based on a deeper knowledge of the patron's life, his interests, and representational...

Adam Michna z Otradovic (Adam Michna of Otradovice, 1600–1676) was the most important figure of Bohemian music history of the mid-17th century. He lived in the time of the deep political and ecclesiastical changes, an aftermath, in the Bohemian Lands, of the 1620 White Mountain Battle. The events of the Thirty Years’ War have influenced the whole of the early 17th century; nevertheless, music development did not stop. The forcible re-Catholicisation, instigated by the Habsburgs aided in the arrival of new music trends from Italy to Bohemia.