Concerts

San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini

Rome

This national church of Florence took two centuries to complete and is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, also known as the protector of Florence. This graceful minor basilica was commissioned by Pope Leo X and designed by the Florentine artist Jacopo Sansovino. It lies in the ancient Ponte district of Rome, increasingly becoming the home of artists, hipsters and where the local Roman community and visitors can enjoy contemporary dining and one-off, boutique shops.

Basilica Papale di San Pietro

Vatican City, Rome

St. Peter’s Square is located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City, where the Pope resides. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the piazza including the colossal but simplistic Doric styled colonnades which surround the square, or embrace visitors; in the maternal arms of the mother church.’ He designed it to create an open space to allow the greatest number of people to see the Pope giving his blessing from either the central façade or from his window in the Vatican Palace. At the heart of the piazza is an Egyptian obelisk dating from 1586, which is the location for many outdoor concerts. Choir only performances will be taking place around the new year inside this magnificent Basilica.

Chiesa Santa Maria in Portico Campitelli

Piazza di Campitelli, Rome

The original church, the most holy Oratory of Saint Gala, housed the much-venerated icon to the Virgin Mary. Legend has it that it just appeared on the altar one day in answered to the prayers to save Rome from a plague sweeping through the city in 1665. Soon after Pope Alexander VII asked architect Carlo Rainaldi to design and build a grander church giving it the name Santa Maria in Portico Campitellli in honour of the icon. The current Baroque church was completed in 1667 with the famous icon enshrined in the eye catching golden Gloria of Angels located behind the main altar. You can also see a wonderful collection of art, frescos and statues including the oldest Marian shrine in Rome which dates back to 1073. In 1747 Henry Stuart, son of Bonnie Prince Charlie, became a cardinal deacon to the church and started the tradition of the Perpetual Prayer which is still recited at every Saturday mass hoping for the return of the Church of England to return to the Catholic faith.

Basilica Sant’Andrea della Valle

Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Rome

This magnificent Teatine church was founded in 1524 and dedicated to Sant’Andrea, the patron of Almalfi, whose ruling family instigated the building of the original church. The construction started in 1591 with the façade finally being completed in 1665. It is a truly impressive feat of architecture with its high barrel vault ceiling, decorative interiors and remarkable paintings. The lavish fresco, decorating the third largest dome in Rome after St. Peter’s and the Pantheon, was painted by the great Baroque artists Lanfranco and Domenichino, set the standard of design and artistry for decades after. Follow the story of Sant’Andrea in the fresco over your heads along the centre of the church. This church impressed Puccini so much that he based the first act of Tosca in Sant’Andrea della Valle. Remember to visit the embalmed bodies of the Supreme Pontiffs, Pius II and Pius III who have both been resting here since 1623 and the tomb of Cardinal Theatine San Giuseppe Maria Tomasi can be seen in the chapel with the wooden crucifix.

Frascati Festival

Frascati

Frascati is an idyllic hill top town located 12 miles south-east of Rome in the Alban Hills famous for its crisp white wine, the aristocratic Villa Aldobrandini, winding cobbled streets and magnificant views over the plains surrounding Rome. Piazza San Pietro, named after Frascati's 16th Century Basilica, which watches over the square, is in the historic centre and a popular pedestrian hub. Piazza del Mercato, as its name suggests, has produce and craft markets held throughout the year as well as an array of small market shops located around the square making it a bustling and busy area. Both squares are regularly used as outdoor spaces by our performers.

Piazza del Popolo

Rome

Neoclassical in style, the Piazza del Popolo, or People's Square, is one of Rome's largest urban piazzas and lies within the city's northern gate, Porta del Popolo, the ancient starting point of the most important road north and, until the birth of the railways, all visitors first sight of Rome. It was the place of Rome's public executions, the last of which took place in 1826. The Eygptian oblelisk, in the centre of the square, is the tallest and second oldest in Rome, arriving in 10BC by order of Augustus Caesar, originally on the Circus Maximus but re-erected here in 1589. On the northern side of the square, guarded by the sister churches of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto, are the three shopping streets, locally known as the 'trident', Via del Corso, Via Babuino and Ripetta, which is the route of Rome's New Year's Day Parade.