The Museum of Musical Instruments in Reggio Calabria in Italy, has been totally destroyed by fire after being torched by arsonists.
Initial reports suggest that several instruments in particular were set alight, before the fire spread around the whole building. The museum, which is close to the seafront which faces Sicily, was founded 17 years ago on the initiative of a local doctor.
It had amassed a collection of 800 instruments from around the world, including many folk instruments of the region. The library was also completely destroyed, which contained some antique scores and books among its collection.
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.
Outrageous! Tragic!
OMG!!!This is horrible news!!!Who would do such a thing??
Who and why? It’s bad enough when it’s a supermarket or an office, but the burning of musical instruments that have been created and looked after with care, given pleasure to strangers and friends, and then finish their lives through a deliberate act of vandalism, is impossible to comprehend!
Terrible, terrible, terrible—such a tragedy at the hands of tragic fools!