| APM - SCUOLA DI ALTO PERFEZIONAMENTO MUSICALE |  |
| Saluzzo, a city of 15,000 inhabitants, invites its visitors to
admire the old part of the town with its towers and campaniles that
stand out beside the peak of Monviso, 3840 metres high. This backdrop
entices many a traveller to penetrate further and get to know the
town, where the main thoroughfare full of shops and businesses is
the boundary for the upper part of the town, the reign of furniture
makers and antique shops. Panoramic views and enchanting spots await the visitor who climbs the city’s streets, and silent alleyways, at times narrow and deserted, beckon the unwary traveller and take him up and down on an endless roller coaster. Wandering between stately buildings and churches, through vaulted porticoes and loggias the visitor comes out into piazza Castello dominated by the striking presence of the 15th century Castiglia fortress. Magnificent palaces of yesteryear today house Saluzzo’s secondary schools. To reach the APM school take the main road, then pass through the Porta Santa Maria to join Via Volta, with its Portici Scuri (Dark Archways) that regularly comes to life with the bustling “Ladies’ market”. From here head up via Volta to piazza Mondagli, where you can see the birthplace of Silvio Pellico, then along via dell’Annunziata until you reach the school entrance that greets its pupils with a solemnity that befits a former convent of Dominican nuns. |
| The city of Saluzzo can boast a certain number of facilities
that make it a focal point for the outlying area: the hospital with
its Emergency Room and General Medicine, Orthopaedics and Surgery
sections; numerous chemist’s shops and gyms, a swimming pool
and cinema. Its cafés and bars, some with live music, are
perfect rendez-vous for the many youngsters living in and around
the city. Wednesdays and Saturdays are the city’s market days
where there is always a fantastic bargain to be found.
Saluzzo is also situated in the vicinity of two important Piedmontese
monuments: |
| Back in 1986 the Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale
was looking for somewhere to open its school, and was lucky enough
to find just what it wanted in the former Annunziata convent in Saluzzo.
The local government and the whole city were thrilled and enthusiastic
when the school decided to settle in the heart of the historic centre. Saluzzo has since witnessed many concerts performed by the Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale in numerous venues: the Chiesa di San Giovanni, piazza del Castello, the local cinema, the Chiesa di San Bernardo and the school’s very own Sala Verdi, each and every one chosen to enhance the music and the different styles of the concert performances held throughout the summer. These indeed are the occasions when the school and the city of Saluzzo come closer together, while in the winter period there is a tendency to hibernate somewhat when the city uses only the Sala Verdi for conferences. In the summer, however, the school comes into full swing with concert performances held throughout the city. Jazz, opera, classical music concerts are held every year, and every year the public is jolted into discovering yet another surprising performance. |