MARINONI, Madame. F. Marinoni/ Fortunata Ernestina Fanni

Fortunata Ernestina Fanni Marinoni (known in contemporary prints as Mme. F. Marinoni or Fortunata Box) was a 19th-century Italian-born composer active primarily within the French salon circuit. Born in Venice, she received classical training in keyboard performance, accompaniment, and vocal setting. She later relocated to France, living in Paris and the Pyrenean spa town of Pau, where she died in 1852. She participated in the cultivated domestic music-making typical of the July Monarchy and early Second Empire eras, moving in Parisian salon circles where prominent Belgian-French composer Albert Grisar notably dedicated his vocal work "Fortunata" to her.

Her compositional output was dedicated to the French vocal romance, Spanish-styled character songs, and domestic guitar and piano literature. Among her best-known surviving published scores is "La jolie catalane: chansonnette espagnole" (published in Paris), a lyrical, character-driven piece published with accompaniment for either pianoforte or guitar that reflected the period’s taste for Iberian color. She also composed refined French art songs, such as "Les Cloches du Soir" (ca. 1848, published in Paris by Éd. Schonenberger), a setting of poetry by the French Romantic poet Marceline Desbordes-Valmore.