Fortepiano, Harpsichord and Harmonium donated by the maestro Nino Rota
Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice 

The Fondazione Giorgio Cini is a non-profit cultural institution based in Venice. It was instituted with the aim of restoring the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore and of creating an international cultural centre. The creation of the Foundation was one of the most considerable private initiatives and it is substantiated by the cultural heritage: the Music Institute became an autonomous entity in 1985. It focuses on research projects including the publication of definitive editions, the organization of archives, the collection of historical and/or critical sources, and the creation of databases. Venetian Heritage adopted the restoration of an American facsimile of a Flemish harpsichord, based on a Ruckers model from the beginning of the 17th century, slightly larger, ravalé, diapason 392/415. 8’ and 4’ registers. The harpsichord was used in Geneva, Switzerland, in the 1950s. The restoration has led to the replacement of all the iron pins, which were irreparably damaged following an improvident varnishing of the case by the creator of the object. A harmonium previously owned by the Maestro Nino Rota, a concert musical instrument, now conserved at the Foundation’s Archivio Nino Rota. The instrument required a restoration of its functionality and the replacement of missing decorative details. Maestro Rota regularly elaborated orchestrations involving unusual timbres on this instrument. An anonymous fortepiano owned by the Fondazione Levi in Venice. Range: Fa0-fa5. Epoch: circa 1800. The instrument is very similar to two Italian fortepianos built by Luigi and Giorgio Hoffer, Venetian fortepiano makers