Cappella Mariana

In three concerts featuring Renaissance music, three ensembles will showcase the close connection between music and architecture in three Italian cities: Venice, Rome and Florence.

Musica Sacra coincides with the 500th anniversary of the birth of Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, who enjoyed a glorious career in Rome, particularly at the Vatican. The Vatican housed two churches, each with its own ensemble: the immense St. Peter's, with the Cappella Giulia, and the more intimate Sistine Chapel.

The programme is based on three legends: the Missa Papae Marcelli, with which Palestrina is said to have saved polyphony for the Catholic Church; Allegri's Miserere, the best-kept “secret” of the Sistine Chapel; and a trip to the holy house par excellence: Mary's Santa Casa, flown by angels from Nazareth to Loreto in the Papal States.