The Conservatorio Gaetano Donizetti, more commonly known in English as the Bergamo Conservatory, is a music conservatory in Bergamo, Italy. Founded in 1805, the school was an important early conservatory model which had a wide impact on similar schools founded later in Italy. In 2023 the school merged with the

Accademia Carrara The Accademia Carrara, (), officially Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo, is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, in Lombardy in northern Italy. The art gallery was established in about 1780 by , a Bergamasco collect ...

to form the Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo.

History

The Bergamo Conservatory was founded by the German composer

Simon Mayr Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German composer. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the ...

in 1805 with the name Lezioni Caritatevoli di Musica. Mayr was then working as the maestro di cappella of the

Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is a major church in the upper town of Bergamo, Northern Italy. History According to the popular tradition, partially supported by documents, the church was built to comply with a vow made to the Virgin Mary ...

and the school was initially operated by that cathedral. One of Mayr's early pupils at the school was the composer

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

, and in 1897 the school's name was changed to the Istituto Musicale Gaetano Donizetti in honor of the school's famous alumnus. In 1908 a separate Schola Cantorum was established at the Bergamo Cathedral at which point in time the Bergamo Conservatory ended its relationship with the cathedral and became an autonomous school under the management of the Misericordia Maggiore of Bergamo. In 1958 the conservatory became a public institution under the management of the government of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

at which point in time the school's name was changed to the Civico Istituto Musicale Gaetano Donizetti. In 2007 the school moved from its historic location in the via Arena area of Bergamo to the via Scotti area of the city. In 2016 the school moved to its present location in newly built headquarters in the Don Luigi Palazzolo. In January 2023 the school merged with the

to form the Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo.

References

External link

Official Website of the Bergamo Conservatory
{{coord missing, Italy Music schools in Italy Music in Bergamo Schools in Bergamo 1805 establishments in Italy