Orchestra del Mare

The Orchestra del Mare, whose instruments were crafted by inmates at Milan's Opera Prison using wood from migrant boats that landed in Lampedusa, will perform in Umbria for the first time. This marks a new milestone for the "Metamorfosi" project, which began within the prison system in 2012 with the creation of the Violin Making and Carpentry Workshop at the Milan-Opera Prison, an initiative of Arnoldo Mosca Mondadori's Casa dello Spirito e delle Arti foundation. The string instruments, crafted by the Milan prison's violin making and carpentry workshop using the wreckage of approximately sixty boats donated by the Italian Ministry of the Interior and saved from destruction, have been blessed by Pope Francis over the years and performed by major international artists such as Sting. The Orchestra del Mare is composed of string instruments: violins, violas, cellos, and double basses, as well as traditional Mediterranean instruments such as guitars, mandolins, mandolas, and mandoloncellos. It is not a permanent orchestra but a "membership project": the instruments are loaned and played by various Italian and foreign orchestras that share the project's values. Through music and beyond any political, religious, or social divide, the Orchestra del Mare seeks to give voice to the plight of those who flee their countries every day due to war, poverty, and persecution.