L’insegnamento musicale nella Casa degli Spersi di Palermo nel Settecento: nuovi documenti

Abstract

The "Casa degli Spersi Mascoli" ("Domus Dispersorum Marium"), the predecessor of today's "Alessandro Scarlatti" Conservatory, was the most important educational institution in Sicily inthe modern era: founded in 1617 as an orphanage, it later specialized in music teaching, while maintaining until 1917 the function of a boarding school intended for orphans and the poor. Its history and organization present a clear reference to the model of the conservatories founded in Naples between the 16th and 17th centuries. In this essay, after briefly reviewing the foundation of the institution, I will focus on some new documents related to music teaching during the 18th century.