Sonosfera®

Located inside the Mosca Palace, headquarters of the Civic Museum, the Sonosfera® is an integral part of the heritage of Pesaro MuseI. 

Unique in the world, this Theatre for the deep listening to ecosystems and music, created for the project ‘Fragments of Extinction – The Sound Heritage of Ecosystems’, has obtained an international patent in 2014 by its creator David Monacchi, a professor at the Rossini Conservatory of Music.

The project studies and proposes the soundscapes of equatorial primary forests recorded by Monacchi during his expeditions around the planet. Considering the drastic changes in climate and natural habitats globally, it’s time to bring the ‘sixth mass extinction’ to the general attention. The direct, real-time experience of the sound of ecosystems within the Sonosfera® represents, in fact,  a tool of awareness towards the paradigm shift and ecological transition now inescapably required of our civilization.

The audience is seated in a double cavea, similar to an amphitheater, built to be acoustically perfect, isolated from the outside and completely sound-absorbent on the inside. The sound comes from 45 loudspeakers that combine to create a spherical sound field in the center that is very close to reality. Sound spectrograms and audio-visual content are projected 360° in very high definition and the experience is a true immersion in a very powerful sound and visual landscape and sensory exploration.

Thanks to the immersive experience proposed, the Sonosfera® constitutes an extraordinary instrument of dissemination, both scientific and for a wider audience, covering a series of scopes linked to research in science and art, and to ecological and aesthetic education. 

Applications of a therapeutic nature are also being studied, linked to the specificity of an advanced immersive tool and for this reason capable of stimulating states of deep relaxation or interacting with autistic spectrum disorders or sensory disorders more generally.

As a semi-stable multifunctional instrument, the Sonosfera® will be able to travel the world throughout the year bringing the content produced in Pesaro Unesco Creative City of Music to European and international museums and cultural institutions.

The version inaugurated on 6 January 2020 was financed within the framework of the ITI Pesaro Fano Project (Integrated Territorial Investments) with ERDF Marche funds (European Regional Development Fund) and was developed thanks to the contribution of the Rossini National Museum and the Municipality of Pesaro, with the connection of the Municipal Services: Nuove Opere, Sviluppo e Opportunità, Politiche Culturali e Governance. The construction of the Sonosfera® was possible thanks to a team of about 20 professionals including engineers, designers, stage technicians and construction companies led by Flavio Antoccia/Sonus Audio Services. The inaugural contents were realized with non-standard technologies and software developed for the project by another specific team including former students of the Electronic Music course of the Rossini Conservatory of Music, directed by David Monacchi and Eugenio Giordani.

On the programme

‘Fragments of Extinction in the Climate Clock’

A 360-degree immersion in the soundscapes of the equatorial primary forests of Amazonia, Africa and Borneo, accompanied by a never-before-seen series of up-to-date scientific data on the state of the living planet and on the dangerous changes in the biosphere that are already taking place. This experience is linked to the Climate Clock, on the facade of the Civic Museum, where it is possible to see the measure of the time available to mankind to exhaust the CO2 budget to be emitted into the atmosphere before crossing the critical threshold (+ 1.5°) and the share of energy produced from renewable sources. Programme in its entirety selected and sponsored within the All4Climate-Italy 2021 events.

Raffaello in Sonosfera®

A new experience dedicated to Raffaello, developed for the fifth centenary of the death of the Divine Painter. An unprecedented work of digital linguistic innovation that narrates the art of the master from Urbino through three-dimensional sound and 360° vision. In particular, the technological amphitheater for deep listening ecosystems and music, allows visitors to immerse themselves in the beauty of perhaps Raffaello’s most significant masterpiece: the cycle of frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura of the Vatican Museums.

The experience is suggested for audiences over 8 years old and includes some sections entirely in the dark, so it is not recommended for those suffering from claustrophobia or fear of the dark.

Photo cover Alex D’emilia