On Saturday, July 18, 2026, at 9:30 p.m., at the Scalinata di San Bernardino in L’Aquila, one of the year’s most significant musical events will take place: the world premiere of “Missa Pro Pace” for soloists, narrator, choir, and orchestra by Oscar-winning composer Nicola Piovani. The composer himself will conduct. Performing will be the Choir of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia, the Umbrian Philharmonic Orchestra, and actress Barbara Ronchi. The event will be filmed by RAI Cultura for national broadcast.
L’Aquila is hosting a world premiere that is set to go down in Italian musical history. As part of I Cantieri dell’Immaginario, one of the major highlights of the program forL’Aquila, Italian Capital of Culture 2026program, Nicola Piovani — composer and 1999 Academy Award winner for the soundtrack to *Life Is Beautiful* by Roberto Benigni — brings his *Missa Pro Pace*to L’Aquila: a new work, commissioned specifically for this city and this year, which has never been performed in public before.
The event is sponsored by the “Barattelli” Aquila Concert Society, to mark the80th anniversary of its founding, which took place on July 18, 1946: exactly eighty years to the day.
The “Missa Pro Pace”: What It Is and Why It’s Being Held in L’Aquila
The Missa Pro Pace is a composition for soloists, narrator, choir, and orchestra structured around the five canonical sections of the Mass— Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei — without the Creed, with a finale that gives the final word to peace: the traditional Dona nobis pacem.
It is not a liturgical Mass: it is, in Piovani’s own words, a secular mass — a civil and universal musical act, in which the traditional form serves as a vessel for a message that transcends religions and borders. The music is interspersed with readings of texts selected from Pablo Neruda and Leo Tolstoy, recited by actress Barbara Ronchi.
On the same evening, the Prelude to the Canticle of the Creatureswill also be performed, with texts selected by Piovani incorporated as an integral part of the concert.
The connection between Piovani and L’Aquila did not begin with this commission. The composer had already written the Sinfonia delle Stagioni, which was performed seven years ago to mark the tenth anniversary of the 2009 earthquake. This new work ties that thread together in the year that L’Aquila is the Italian Capital of Culture.
“Thanks to Barattelli for giving me this opportunity,” said Nicola Piovani during the presentation of the Cantieri dell’Immaginario program —. He had asked me for a free-form work, in the vein of what had already happened seven years ago with the *Sinfonia delle Stagioni* for the tenth anniversary of the earthquake. It was I who proposed a Mass—a *Messa Pro Pace*—which, unfortunately, is sorely needed. I, for one, had felt this need for quite some time. We are musicians; we speak through our language and our craft, still writing with pen and paper. It is a secular Mass. The finale features the “Dona nobis pacem.” The final word is “Peace.””
The Cast: Absolute Excellence
The performance will be presented by a world-class ensemble, which has gathered in L’Aquila for this world premiere.
On the podium: Nicola Piovani conducts his own opera.
Orchestra: the “Vittorio Calamani” Umbrian Philharmonic, an ensemble founded in 2019 with all musicians under the age of 35—a choice that combines quality and a new generation.
Chorus: the Choir of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome, one of Italy’s most prestigious choral ensembles, conducted by Maestro Andrea Secchi.
Soloists:
- Anna Grotto — soprano
- Aloisa Aisemberg — mezzo-soprano
- Murat Can Güvem — tenor
- Toni Nězić — bass
Narrator: Barbara Ronchi, one of the most acclaimed actresses in contemporary Italian cinema: two Nastri d’Argento awards, three Ciak d’Oro awards, five David di Donatello nominations, and one David di Donatello award for the film *Settembre* by Giulia Steigerwalt.
RAI Cultura Live
RAI Cultura will be at the San Bernardino Staircase to record and broadcast the event nationwide: the Missa Pro Pace by Nicola Piovani isn’t just staying in L’Aquila—it’s reaching all of Italy.
As part of the program for L’Aquila, Italian Capital of Culture 2026 · Cantieri dell’Immaginario.