Overview
The National Museum of Musical Instruments consists largely of the vast private collection of the lyric tenor Evan Gorga (1865–1957), to which other valuable pieces have been added over time. Today, it has 3,000 instruments, 800 of which are on display, and covers a period ranging from ancient Rome to the 20th century. In the "archaeo-musical" section, you can admire terracotta whistles, bronze bells, bone and ivory plectrums, rattles, sistrums, and crotales. Among the most valuable exhibits are a trumpet from 1461, the oldest harpsichord in the world, dating back to 1537, the splendid Barberini harp from around 1620, a work of art that is not only musical but also sculptural, the first piano in history designed and built by Bartolomeo Cristofori from Padua between 1722 and 1723, and an instrument built and decorated by Giacomo Balla, which he called "Ciac-ciac". The sections dedicated to popular instruments from all over the world and to instruments to be played while walking are also very interesting.
The museum has also reconstructed the living room-studio of the musician and composer Giovanni Sgambati (1841–1914), originally located at Piazza di Spagna 93, which for several decades was a cultural and musical centre of international importance, frequented by Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. The museum is now a landmark of the capital's musical life, home to concerts, festivals and meetings. Evan Gorga, to whom all this is owed, was a highly original character: he achieved great success as a tenor, performing between 1895 and 1899 on many prestigious Italian stages, including the Regio in Turin, La Fenice in Venice, the Politeama in Genoa and the San Carlo in Naples, until after only four years he decided to retire without explanation and devoted himself full-time to collecting.
