Classica al Museo

A festival that makes the musical heritage of the Maremma resonate

Classica al Museo is a chamber music concert series promoted by the Fondazione Museo Santa Cecilia in Massa Marittima, an art city in the Province of Grosseto in the heart of the Tuscan Maremma. The event was created to showcase, through live music, the exceptional collection of keyboard instruments at the Museo degli Organi Santa Cecilia and the rich historical and architectural heritage of the city.

The Museo degli Organi Santa Cecilia, the festival's setting

The festival is centered at the Museo degli Organi, housed in the ancient church of San Pietro all'Orto, a building dating back to 1197 that served as the first church of this important mining town. Founded in 2002 by Dr. Lorenzo Ronzoni, the Foundation preserves a rare collection of keyboard instruments: a 1686 portative organ, 18th-century organs from the Emilian and Central Italian schools, Neapolitan examples from 1742, and Sicilian ones from 1771, as well as harpsichords and pianos that document the technical and tonal evolution of these instruments.

The 2026 edition program

The 2026 edition of Classica al Museo offers a journey through centuries and styles. The festival opened on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 9:00 PM, in the halls of the Museo di Santa Cecilia with the concert «Della tromba col violino et organo insieme» (subtitle «Quando l'ottone si fa seta»): the Collegium trio «In Harmonia Salus» — Francesco Gibellini on baroque trumpet, Clara Fanticini on baroque violin, and Michele Gaddi on organ and harpsichord — proposed a journey through the courts of Italy and England, recounting the birth of the solo trumpet and its transition from a martial character to a leading voice in chamber music, performed with period instruments to restore the authentic sounds of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The festival continues on Friday, July 11, 2026, at 9:00 PM, in the evocative Cloister of Sant'Agostino with «La voce dell'anima», a concert for voice and piano featuring baritone Giacomo Serra and pianist Tullia Melandri: a program dedicated to the German Lied, with works by Robert Schumann and Ludwig van Beethoven, in an intense dialogue between music and poetry.

Between music, art, and history in Massa Marittima

• Period instruments: the festival favors performances using historical instruments and historically informed practice.
• Concert venues: from the halls of the Museo degli Organi to the Cloister of Sant'Agostino, every event engages with a landmark site of the city.
• Repertoire: from Italian and English Baroque to the German Romantic Lied, a range that combines philological rigor with engaging listening.

Included in the cultural calendar of Massa Marittima and Tuscany, Classica al Museo offers residents and visitors the chance to discover a precious corner of the Maremma, combining the experience of live music with a visit to a one-of-a-kind museum.