Alessandro Scarlatti

Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian composer of Baroque music. Considered by musicologists as one of the most important representatives of the Neapolitan musical school, he was the major Italian opera composer between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century.

Nicknamed by his contemporaries “the Italian Orpheus”, he divided his career between Naples and Rome, where he received his training. He is often considered the founder of the Neapolitan musical school: his contribution, originality, and influence were essential, as well as lasting, both in Italy and in Europe.

Particularly known for his operas, he brought to its highest developments the Italian dramatic tradition, initiated by Monteverdi at the beginning of the 17th century and continued by Cesti, Cavalli, Carissimi, Legrenzi, and Stradella, designing the definitive form of the aria con da capo, imitated throughout Europe. He was also the inventor of the Italian overture in three movements (which played a fundamental role in the development of the symphony), the sonata in four parts (the progenitor of the modern string quartet), and the technique of motivic development.

A reference model for musical theater, Scarlatti also touched upon all the other genres practiced in his time, from the sonata to the concerto grosso, from the motet to the mass, from the oratorio to the cantata, the latter of which he was the undisputed master.

He was the father of the composer Domenico Scarlatti, remembered for his fundamental contribution to the 18th-century harpsichord sonata.

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Perhaps not everyone knows that the 6th District hosts as many as 42 streets and squares named after great musicians, composers, and Italian conductors, giving rise to a very particular toponymic context. 

If we really want to proceed with a non-discriminatory project towards great musicians, we need to take a few more steps towards the center up to Via Giuseppe Verdi and Via Gioacchino Rossini...being stars of the international opera, we risk seriously offending them. 
In these years we will discover together the 44 great musicians who bring to life a special neighborhood in Turin, they are all neighbors!

Let's start with Antonio Vivaldi, Amilcare Ponchielli, Niccolò Paganini, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Alessandro Scarlatti, Giacomo Puccini.

The project is realized thanks to the City of Turin.