From 1697 onwards, Pier Jacopo Martello, a well-read diplomat from Bologna, devoted himself to the study of Greek, Latin and French tragedies: he wrote many tragedies, printed either in Rome, where he worked as a secretary for the ambassador of Bologna, or in Bologna, where he moved back in 1718. An aficionado of French theatre, Martello drew inspiration from the French Pléiade to write his treatise Del verso tragico. His satirical comedy Lo starnuto d’Ercole, written specifically for puppets in 1717, would have been the first literary work performed with string puppets.