Bologna City of Music

In 2006 Bologna became a UNESCO Creative City of Music: a prestigious acknowledgement celebrating its rich musical tradition and its lively musical scene. For Bologna, music is tradition, creativity and identity.

Music continues to be of an extraordinary importance for Bologna, the city’s most prominent institutions being the Public Theatre (il Teatro Comunale), the International Museum and Library of Music, the Padre Martini Conservatory, the Music and Theatre department of the university and the Philharmonic Academy.

The UNESCO title recognises a rich creative fabric of musical production and consumption, in the form of important international festivals and a many cultural opportunities: important classical music seasons, contemporary music events, live jazz in local bars, events for children, the presence of young artists and bands and much more make for a unique musical panorama.

The UNESCO Creative City network allows Bologna to instigate international exchanges, stimolate the growth of local business through collaborations with other cities, promote the musical sector of Bologna and encourage wider access to music and other innovative cultural phenomena.

A strategic tool for positioning a creative Bologna in a worldwide context is an annual public call for the selection of projects encouraging the internationalisation of Bolognese music. This call enables musicians and other workers in the sector to perform on an international stage and also welcomes artists from other UNESCO Creative Cities of Music to Bologna.
Support to the music industry is further manifested in a constant activity of international relations, communication and promotion.

It is possible to view the 2016 UNESCO Monitoring Report  and the 2017-2018 Activities report  which detail the activities of Bologna City of Music in relation to the network’s mission and plans for future action.

Bologna is currently heading a collaboration between the 9 Italian Creative Cities that consider creativity and innovation as key tools for the cultural, social and economic development of their territories. Bologna and Pesaro are City of Music, Fabriano  and Carrara are City of Folk Art, Parma and Alba are City of Food, Rome City of Film, Turin City of Design and Milan City of Literature.

The collaboration aims to develop an integral connection between culture, economic development and tourism; to become a platform of reflection and research in the area of new economies and to affirm itself as a reference point and hub of creativity at a national level.

Keep in touch and get involved in growing this network of opportunity!

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