Not everyone can say they have been able to attend a live concert by Sting, the lead singer of the band, The Police. But inmates of a prison in Milan can.
Sting not only had a different stage, but also a different instrument. Instead of his trademark bass, he played a unique guitar, made from the wood of shipwrecked boats near Lampedusa.
Behind each of these instruments lies the story of dozens of people who boarded the boats trying to reach this island, one of the gateways to Europe and a major focus of the migratory crisis Europe is currently facing.
ARNOLDO MOSCA
President, Foundation “Casa del Espiritu y de las Artes”
Politicians often don't ask: why are they in those boats?And as I saw a 12-year-old boy getting off the boat, I thought what if that was my son, and I said, Wow! But then I found out that these boats were being destroyed by the government. So I thought why not make them a living memory, so that these boats can tell their story. Hence the idea of bringing this to life in an orchestra.
With wood from the boat, musical instruments were made to form “the orchestra of the sea,” which, as its name suggests, comes directly from the Mediterranean. But it has another unique characteristic as well.
The people in charge of making these violins, violas and double basses are inmates of a prison in Milan. They make the instruments in a workshop specialized in producing stringed instruments.
ARNOLDO MOSCA
President, Foundation “Casa del Espiritu y de las Artes”
We had a workshop in the prison for many years, and I asked the government to bring boats to that prison, and with an ancient construction technique from the 1500s, we started making violins out of that very wood. But the amazing thing is that the inmates play these instruments and this is how the orchestra of the sea was born. The dream behind it is to give a voice to that child, to every person who comes from those boats searching for hope.
For the President of the foundation leading this project, the social reintegration of inmates is important. He says that through their daily work in the social sphere, they are given a second chance.
CA
TR: KG
