Description
The Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella is Naples' music school, in the former Celestine convent next to the church of San Pietro a Majella, in the historic center. Founded in 1808 by merging four old orphan institutes, it holds within its walls a museum, a library and an archive dedicated to the greats of Neapolitan music.
It is the home of the Neapolitan school of music, which between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries took its style to the stages and courts of all of Europe. The historical museum displays instruments, busts and portraits of composers and musicians tied to the institute, and there is also a library with the historical archive.
Why are music schools called “conservatories”? Because the word comes from here. In the sixteenth century Naples had four institutes for orphaned, abandoned or poor children, the conservatories, where catechism and singing were taught: Santa Maria di Loreto, the Pietà dei Turchini, Sant'Onofrio a Capuana and the Poveri di Gesù Cristo.
The Pietà dei Turchini took its name from the turquoise color of the orphans' uniforms. Then music became the main subject: with masters like Francesco Durante and Gaetano Greco the boys came out ready to be singers, instrumentalists, composers. Among the students we remember Pergolesi, Piccinni and Paisiello.
With fame came paying students too, children of families that were not poor, who studied alongside the orphans taken off the streets. In 1739 the French writer Charles de Brosses called Naples the world capital of music.
The Conservatory was born in 1808 as the Real Collegio di Musica, from the merger of the four institutes. The old seat was the nearby convent of San Sebastiano. From 1826, by order of Francis I, the complex moved to its present seat, in Via San Pietro a Majella, and took the name Reale Conservatorio.
In 1825 the world premiere of Vincenzo Bellini's Adelson e Salvini was staged here. Among the directors have been Paisiello, Donizetti, Mercadante and Cilea.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the complex was enriched by donations: busts, portraits and instruments of illustrious musicians, left by the artists themselves so that the college would keep their works and their history. In 1868 the librarian Francesco Florimo, under the direction of Mercadante, wrote a letter announcing that he wanted to leave his collection here.
Don't miss
• The historical museum.
• The library and the archive.
• The instruments and portraits of the musicians.
Did you know?
• The word “conservatory” was born from the orphanages of Naples.
• The orphans of the Pietà dei Turchini wore turquoise uniforms.
It is the home of the Neapolitan school of music, which between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries took its style to the stages and courts of all of Europe. The historical museum displays instruments, busts and portraits of composers and musicians tied to the institute, and there is also a library with the historical archive.
Why are music schools called “conservatories”? Because the word comes from here. In the sixteenth century Naples had four institutes for orphaned, abandoned or poor children, the conservatories, where catechism and singing were taught: Santa Maria di Loreto, the Pietà dei Turchini, Sant'Onofrio a Capuana and the Poveri di Gesù Cristo.
The Pietà dei Turchini took its name from the turquoise color of the orphans' uniforms. Then music became the main subject: with masters like Francesco Durante and Gaetano Greco the boys came out ready to be singers, instrumentalists, composers. Among the students we remember Pergolesi, Piccinni and Paisiello.
With fame came paying students too, children of families that were not poor, who studied alongside the orphans taken off the streets. In 1739 the French writer Charles de Brosses called Naples the world capital of music.
The Conservatory was born in 1808 as the Real Collegio di Musica, from the merger of the four institutes. The old seat was the nearby convent of San Sebastiano. From 1826, by order of Francis I, the complex moved to its present seat, in Via San Pietro a Majella, and took the name Reale Conservatorio.
In 1825 the world premiere of Vincenzo Bellini's Adelson e Salvini was staged here. Among the directors have been Paisiello, Donizetti, Mercadante and Cilea.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the complex was enriched by donations: busts, portraits and instruments of illustrious musicians, left by the artists themselves so that the college would keep their works and their history. In 1868 the librarian Francesco Florimo, under the direction of Mercadante, wrote a letter announcing that he wanted to leave his collection here.
Don't miss
• The historical museum.
• The library and the archive.
• The instruments and portraits of the musicians.
Did you know?
• The word “conservatory” was born from the orphanages of Naples.
• The orphans of the Pietà dei Turchini wore turquoise uniforms.