 Bernardino joint the Este court at Ferrara in 1578, and left when the court dissolved in 1598, at which point he went to the court of Vincenzo Gonzaga at Mantua, a closely related court, and in 1609 was instrumentalist to the pope at the Castel Sant'Angelo.It seems that he played the violin and trombone as part of his duties.Bertolotti was a minor composer, and despite the revolutionary musical changes which were occurring in Ferrara during his tenure there, most notably in the work of Luzzasco Luzzaschi, his works remained pedestrian, and were published