Annual report 2004 - Compagnia di San Paolo

Sala Scarlatti’s organ, in the San Pietro a Majella Conservatory – Naples
The Library of the “Conservatorio” of Music of San Pietro a Majella - Naples
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The Real Collegio di Musica, or Collegio di Musica di San
Sebastiano, originated in 1806 from four secular
institutions (the Orphanages of S.Onofrio a Capuana,
S.Maria di Loreto, Pietà dei Turchini and of dei Poveri di
Gesù Cristo), which were established between the 16th
and 17th centuries, originally dedicated to the sheltering
and education of orphans and street children, and which
later became real music schools, going on to form the new
“Neapolitan school”, whose most illustrious exponent was
Alessandro Scarlatti. The Real Collegio di Musica was
transferred in 1826 into the present building, once the
Convent of San Pietro a Majella, annex of the church of the
same name of Celestini Fathers. In the 1800s the College
of Music of San Sebastiano took the name Regio
Conservatorio di Musica di San Pietro a Majella, affirming
itself as one of the greatest Italian institutions in this field.
The Conservatory possesses a very valuable archive and
library (over 40,000 manuscripts and 400,000 printed
editions): the documentation, which dates from 1500 to
1800, has its origins in the collection of the volumes of the
ancient Conservatory of the Pietà dei Turchini, enriched by
various prestigious contribution, including the collection
of musical scores of Queen Maria Carolina and the
collection of Giuseppe Sigismondo, to the music
collection of the Royal House of Bourbon in 1900s.
Declared a “scholastic library open to the public”, due to
lack of funds it suffered progressive deterioration until the
recent partial restoration and reorganisation works which
ended in 2001 allowed for its reopening. In co-operation
with the Superintendent, the Conservatory of San Pietro a
Majella was in fact able to implement an integrated
reorganisation project for the restoration and
enhancement of its artistic and musical heritage. In that
project other previously financed works converged: the
restructuring of the building, under the auspices of the
Superintendent for Architectural Heritage, the cabling of
the institute and therefore of the Library for the connection
with National Library System through the National Library
network.
The Conservatory intends to continue the general
reorganisation and revitalisation project, setting it out in
several fields. For the safety of the valuable manuscripts a
five-year plan has been drawn up and which is underway
and fully supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo with a
grant of € 250,000. The works are concentrated on the
most important materials: that is, 150 very precious
manuscripts, including autographed works and 16th
century texts of the Sala Rossini, of approximately 40,000
shots, which will produce three different digital formats
according to the standard of the Digital Archive Project for
Music by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage. Supporting
the enhancement of such heritage through a sophisticated
avant-garde project represents the typical example of the
culture intervention of the Compagnia di San Paolo,
aimed at the promotion of knowledge through growth of
local skills.