Vincenzo Bellini, in Catania the museum reopens

“A choral work as always – said the councilor for culture Barbara Mirabella – which made it possible to give new life to the museum and to the spaces of the birthplace of the Swan. The museum tells the biographical phases but also the passion and artistic career of Vincenzo Bellini. A walk that brings all of us citizens and tourists closer to the greatness of this character. A giant of music, which it will be possible to discover more deeply also through the virtual museum with all the digitized work. It will represent an immersive space, a place to listen and live’ Vincenzo Bellini”.

Panel texts, the captions and the scientific planning of the Vincenzo Bellini museum were taken care of by the working group of the University of Catania, led by Professor Maria Rosa De Luca. “The University of Catania, thanks to the Department of Humanities - underlined Professor De Luca – e he Cnr, have provided an important contribution on the contents and on the study of the collections on display in the 'Casa del Cigno'. A much broader project that involves three steps. This is the re-functionalization of the spaces of Bellini's birthplace, the creation of a multimedia museum and the creation of a digital platform on which the Bellini heritage collections will be available. Today's opening represents the realization of the first part of the project also aimed at restoring and reviving the musician's relationship with the city of Catania. It is no coincidence that the first room is dedicated to the musician's early years, from 1801 al 1819. The second on his return to Sicily, after the success of the opera “Norma”. The third to the return of the remains of the”hero ”from Catania in 1876 in his Catania. But we have also implemented two other initiatives. The first is the adhesion of this structure to the European network of birthplaces of great opera composers such as Beethoven and Chopin, an opportunity of fundamental importance for Catania. The second already provided for the inclusion of the city of Catania from last year, with its "Bellini" Museum, in the circuit of the cities of the five great opera composers. This is Pesaro with Rossini, Parma with Verdi, Lucca with Puccini, Bergamo with Donizetti and, in the end, Catania with Bellini”.

The reopening of the spaces on the ground floor and first floor of the museum marks the first step of the "BellininRete" project, which will be completed by the end of the year. The second floor of the building will also be inaugurated in the coming months, with the multimedia area dedicated to the Swan. This first phase is part of the complex project drawn up by prof. Francesco Antinucci, aimed at a reorganization of the Civic Museum through the rearrangement of the birthplace and the multimedia museum. A small piece to the initiative was contributed by the students of the art school “Emile Greco”, who oversaw the cleaning of the furniture in the Vincenzo Bellini museum.

These are the opening hours and useful info for visiting the Vincenzo Bellini museum.

Gives Villa Maria you can easily reach Catania by car and by train (the railway station is just a few meters away) in about 20 minutes.