The basilica of Santo Spirito was filled with music and applause on Thursday evening, as more than 150 people attended the free concert by the Mozarteum ensemble Bella Musica.
The event was organized by Friends of Florence, the nonprofit foundation dedicated to preserving and promoting Florence’s cultural heritage. The concert was part of its ongoing commitment to support music and the arts in the city.
Bella Musica is made up of talented young musicians from the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, one of the most prestigious conservatories in Europe. The ensemble brings to Florence the vitality and freshness of emerging artists who are already performing at an international level.
The evening’s program featured some of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s most beloved works, alongside compositions by other great masters such as Joseph Haydn. The selection was performed with clarity and energy, highlighting the youthful spirit of the ensemble. Chamber pieces and orchestral arrangements alternated to showcase both the virtuosity of the individual musicians and the cohesion of the group as a whole.
The concert was held on August 28, the feast day of Saint Augustine, inside the basilica founded by the Augustinians in Florence. The coincidence added symbolic resonance to the evening, with music accompanying a place of centuries-old history and spirituality.
The performance was originally planned in the cloister of Santo Spirito but had to be moved inside the basilica due to an orange-level weather alert. The change of venue proved fortunate: the excellent acoustics of the church enhanced Mozart’s music and created an intimate connection between the performers and the audience.
The concert ended with long applause and enthusiastic appreciation. Many passersby in Piazza Santo Spirito, intrigued by the music resonating from the church, stopped at the doors to listen, adding to the atmosphere of participation and curiosity that surrounded the evening.
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Marco Bastiani is the founder of Florence Daily News, launched in 2011. He has worked as a journalist since 1998, and was a political editor at Il Giornale della Toscana. He later held senior roles in communications for public and private institutions. He lives in Florence, loves the sea and Greece, and has two children.