Concert of the Vatican Gendarmerie Band at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto
Bringing Together Cultures and Traditions
On the evening of Monday, July 7, in the stunning setting of Piazza del Duomo of Spoleto, in front of a large and enthusiastic audience, the Musical Band of the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps performed a concert dedicated to peace—aimed at “bringing together different cultures and traditions” and “building bridges between distant yet kindred worlds.”
The performance was part of the official program of the Festival dei Due Mondi. The highly anticipated annual international event was attended by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President Emeritus of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, Sister Raffaella Petrini, current President of the Governorate, Archbishop Emilio Nappa and Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, both Secretaries General. Hosting the event was Most Reverend Msgr. Renato Boccardo, Archbishop of Spoleto-Norcia.
As part of one of the world’s most renowned international music festivals, the concert was intended as a moment of musical reflection to spiritually unite the “Two Worlds” and to promote peace and dialogue. The Gendarmerie Band—conducted by Maestro Stefano Iannilli and coordinated by Deputy Commissioner Mauro Colaiacomo—sought to express the need to promote peace through the universal language of music. The program was carefully curated to convey messages of dialogue, art, and beauty. Each piece served as an invitation to encounter and share, in the spirit of friendship and fraternity.
The repertoire included: the Pontifical Anthem by Charles Gounod, the official theme of the 2025 Jubilee Pilgrims of Hope, Ritratto Felliniano with music by Nino Rota arranged by Loreto Ruggieri, Nessun Dorma from Turandot, O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi, Il Triello from the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Por una cabeza by Carlos Gardel, the Mambo from Bernstein’s West Side Story, Summertime from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, the Finale of Suite for Variety Orchestra No. 1 by Shostakovich, Un amore così grande by Ferilli and Maggio, Caravan by Duke Ellington, and Il Canto degli Italiani.
This was the Gendarmerie Band’s second performance in Spoleto, following the concert held on January 12 at the Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti, promoted by Archbishop Boccardo in celebration of the feast of Saint Ponziano, marking the 1850th anniversary of his martyrdom.
