THE ITALIAN NAVY BAND

The repertoire of the Italian Navy Band encompasses a wide range of musical genres: original band music, classical, operatic, symphonic, jazz, pop, and rock.

The Italian Navy Band is one of the oldest military bands in Italy. Its origins can be traced back to the instrumental ensembles that were commonly embarked on flagship vessels in pre-unified Italy. In 1861, with the unification of the Navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont and that of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the Royal Italian Navy was born, along with its first band; the band was officially established on January 1, 1879, with the institution of the “Royal Navy Musicians’ Role” and the subsequent creation of a new permanent structure at the High Command in La Spezia. From 1965 to 1991, it was under the authority of the Maritime Department of Taranto and was later transferred to Rome where it is currently based. The Italian Navy Band is composed of a Music Director, an Assistant Music Director, 102 musicians, and an archivist, all in permanent active service, hailing from conservatories and music institutes and recruited through competitive examinations. The Italian Navy Band is called upon to perform its institutional duties in Italy and abroad, garnering extraordinary public and critical acclaim wherever it goes. Currently, it is commanded by Captain Aniello Grasso and directed by Captain Antonio Barbagallo.
Among the most important national stages where it has performed, stand out: La Scala Theatre, the Auditorium and Teatro dal Verme in Milan, the Auditorium Parco della Musica “Ennio Morricone”, the Teatro dell’Opera, the Auditorium Conciliazione, the Baths of Caracalla, and the Academic Hall of the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the Teatro Regio and the Auditorium Paganini in Parma, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, and the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.
For its ability to represent, through music, the Navy’s commitment to social causes and humanitarian aid, in 2004 it was awarded the prestigious “Knighthood of Peace” by the International Center for Peace among Peoples in Assisi.