Silvi and music: from the band tradition to Mogol

The beauty in which the town of Silvi is naturally immersed and the splendor of its environment have always represented a lively source of inspiration for all forms of art, including music.

And the passion for music is deeply rooted in Silvi.

Of great importance for the artistic identity of the town is the history of the band tradition: the “Banda di Silvi” was well-known and appreciated. From the last decades of the nineteenth century until the sixties of the twentieth century gave great prestige to the name of Silvi, thanks to the skills of extraordinary musicians and the wise direction of exceptional and unforgettable Masters.

Some of them are remembered by three commemorative plaques, placed on the external walls of the rectory of the Church of the SS. Salvatore in Silvi Paese, in Piazza Largo della Porta. Reading them in chronological order, the first plaque on the right is dedicated to Maestro Giuseppe Palmisano, a native of Locardotondo, who directed the Silvi band in the 1920s with great success. At the same time, the tragical fate that annihilated the band formation of those years is mentioned, when on 30th August 1922 the Banda di Silvi, on its way to the town of Civitaquana -where it was supposed to perform in the evening- was overwhelmed by a train at a level crossing unattended in Chieti Scalo. The truck on which the 45 members of the band were traveling was dismembered by the impact, 11 were the victims and most of the rest of the band complex suffered very serious and disabling injuries.

This terrible mourning deeply affected the soul of the whole community of Silvi, the emotion and pain for this tragicloss was unspeakable. The crash - later defined as the "Tragedy of the Banda di Silvi" - also had a great media echo: it was reported by many regional and national newspapers of the time, described as "a true catastrophe".

The band tradition found the strength to be reborn immediately after the war, when Maestro Francesco Perazzitti was entrusted with the direction of the complex, remembered on the central plaque: a great and wise composer, among his symphonic marches he bequeathed to the town a majestic dedication , the splendid march “Silvi in festa”.

VIDEO OF THE SYMPHONY MARCH SILVI IN FESTIVAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaHumgOgHQU

SILVI IN FESTIVAL, M° Perazzitti, performed by the BAND OF CHIETI, M° Marco Vignali, FESTIVAL OF SAN GIUSTINO 2019

The commemorative plaque on the left honours another great director dear to the city, Maestro Domenico Paris Terra, who directed the Banda dei Silvi at the end of the fifties.

Th beauty of Silvi was also a source of inspiration for Italian pop music, especially its charm struck the artistic sensibility of a great lyricist and author: Giulio Rapetti Mogol. Mogol's bond with the city of Silvi dates back to his youthful summer holidays, when he spent holidays in the Adriatic town with his family.

One of the most famous songs of the Mogol-Lucio Battisti couple, "La canzone del sole” (The song of the sun) describes precisely the scenario of the summer days spent by the sea in Silvi Marina. Mogol confessed that the lyrics of the song were written thinking about his emotions of that time, so much so that the Municipality of Silvi gave the author honorary citizenship for his dedication and love shown to the city. Mogol stated that he has always felt like a "citizen of Silvi", he has many memories linked to his summers spent here, such as the fish market and the dirt road that went to Silvi Paese. Furthermore, even the song "La fila degli oleandri" (1991), written together with Gianni Bella who was the interpreter, was inspired precisely by the Silvi seafront:

[…] Mi ricordo la spiaggia lunga più di n miglio
E le barche coi colori molto vivi
Sulla strada passava un'auto appena, un'auto all'ora, o forse meno
La stazione senza il treno era un salotto
E nel mio cuore la gioia mi premeva il petto

Cosa provo, mi spiace, non lo posso dire
Mi tuffavo dentro l'acqua trasparente
La mia mente serena come rondini nel cielo, restava in volo
Fino a quando verso sera, il sogno vago
All'improvviso diventava voglia vera, eh-eh […]

From “La fila degli oleandri” (Mogol – Bella, 1991)

LA FILA DEGLI OLEANDRI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU0Dmp8vex4

Bibliography:
De Carolis Lamberto, Silvi – storia, folclore e turismo (Edigrafital - Teramo 1970)
Spitilli Giovanni, Silvi – storia, leggenda, realtà (Ursini- Catanzaro 1999).
Costantini Franco- Ottavio Scianitti, Per le vie del Borgo (Silvi 15, Tipografia Hatria 2016).
Martocchia Paolo, Le perle di Silvi (Grafiche Martintype, Colonnella 2014).
Pradelli Molinari Alessandro, La cucina abruzzese, Newton & Compton, Roma 2000)

From the web:

https://www.ilcentro.it/teramo/silvi-ricorda-la-tragedia-della-banda-1.1609946
https://www.rete8.it/cronaca/centenario-della-tragedia-della-banda-musicale-giornata-della-memoria-per-silvi-e-chieti

Francesco Bonomi, Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana ONLINE

https://www.folkmusicworld.com/larte-cchiu-prelibbate-musica-popolare-abruzzese
https://www.ilcentro.it/teramo/il-brodetto-alla-silvarola-diventa-un-prodotto-doc-1.454570