- Free 1st Sunday
Photo: MM, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Historic villa / palace, 1808
San Pietro a Majella Conservatory of Music
Music high school
- Within the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Centre of Naples”
At a glance
- Period
- Early modern period, 1808
- Coordinates
- 40°50′58″ N, 14°15′09″ E
History and description
This is a list of music conservatories in Naples, Italy.
Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella
The Naples Conservatory of Music is a music school located in Naples, Italy. It is situated in the complex of San Pietro a Majella.
It was originally located in the church of the former monastery of San Sebastiano and was called the Conservatorio di San Sebastiano, formed in 1807 by the merger of the Conservatorio di Santa Maria di Loreto, the Conservatorio di Sant' Onofrio in Capuana, and the Conservatorio della Pietà dei Turchini. It also became known as the Real Collegio di Musica, and after 1826 when it moved to its current location, as the Conservatorio di Musica San Pietro a Majella.
The conservatory and adjacent church are today part of the old San Pietro a Majella monastic complex, built at the end of the 13th century and dedicated to the monk Pietro da Morone, who became Pope Celestine V in 1294. The conservatory houses an impressive library of manuscripts pertaining to the lives and musical production of composers who lived and worked in Naples, among whom are Alessandro Scarlatti, Pergolesi, Vincenzo Battista, Domenico Cimarosa, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. Vittorio Monti, who around 1904 composed the famous Csárdás, studied violin and composition at this conservatory. Another student was Leonardo De Lorenzo, flautist of many American orchestras and teacher at the Eastman School of Music. The historical museum has a display of rare antique musical instruments.
The historic conservatories
San Pietro a Majella is the last in a long string of establishments that have been music conservatories in Naples. Their existence goes back to the Spanish rule of the city as a vicerealm starting in the early 16th century. These early conservatories were Santa Maria di Loreto, Pietà dei Turchini, Sant'Onofrio a Capuana, and I Poveri di Gesù Cristo. They enjoyed a considerable reputation as training grounds not only for young children to be trained in church music, but, eventually, as a feeder system into the world of commercial music once that opened up in the early 17th century.
Santa Maria di Loreto was built in 1535 and was the original conservatory in Naples, coming at the beginning of the Spanish expansion of Naples under the city's most famous viceroy, don Pedro de Toledo. It is the first secular music conservatory. Alumni include Salvatore Lanzetti and Domenico Cimarosa. Old maps show Santa Maria di Loreto to have been a seafront "borgo" —a separate section of town. Thus, the conservatory was beyond the Spanish fortifications that guarded the southeastern approach to Naples.
Sant'Onofrio a Capuana dates from 1578 and counts as its alumni Niccoló Jommelli, Giovanni Paisiello, Niccolò Piccinni, and Antonio Sacchini, four of the great names in the 18th century Neapolitan music. The Italian Baroque composer Cristofaro Caresana was a director from 1667 until 1690. The original building still stands, just across the street on the north side of the old Vicaria, the tribunale, the Naples Hall of Justice. …
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «San Pietro a Majella Conservatory of Music».
Timeline
- 1808Built
Events and people from Wikidata (CC0).
Photos
Getting there
MontesantoTrain, nearest
600 m as the crow flies
San Pietro a Majella Conservatory of Music
Porta di Massa1.0 km
Aeroporto di Napoli Capodichino4.9 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
Loading map…
Nearby
See on the mapMore historic villas and palaces in Campania
- UNESCO
- Free 1st Sunday
- Free 1st Sunday
Frequently asked questions
Where is San Pietro a Majella Conservatory of Music?
San Pietro a Majella Conservatory of Music is in Naples, in the province of Napoli (Campania), Italy. GPS coordinates: 40.84944, 14.25250.
How old is San Pietro a Majella Conservatory of Music?
Wikidata dates it to 1808.
What else is there to see near San Pietro a Majella Conservatory of Music?
Nearby you’ll find: Museo del conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella (0 m away), Port'Alba, Naples (100 m away), Palazzo Firrao (100 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 8 photos
- NapoliConservatorioSanPietroAMaiellaTarga — MM, Public domain
- Facciata del portone Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella — IlSistemone, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chiostro Majella — Baku, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Conservatorio Napoli sala da concerti — VoceUmana7, CC0
- ConservatoriodiSanPietroaMajella — IlSistemone, Public domain
- ChiostroPiccoloMajellaNaples — IlSistemone, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Napoli - PalazzoConservatorioPietro a Maiella — Armando Mancini, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Napoli-1030919 — Antoine Pitrou, FAL
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences