The ‘Orchestra di piazza Vittorio’ in Dakar

As part of the preparatory activities for the reopening of the Italian Cultural Institute in Dakar, yesterday evening the Italian Embassy presented the much-awaited concert by the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio, the renowned band of musicians from different backgrounds that formed in Rome’s Esquilino district, giving life to a unique multicultural project. The concert was held before a large audience in the prestigious venue of Dakar’s Grand Théâtre National. The performance was part of the Italian Embassy’s intense activities to promote Italy’s contemporary world, which were recently concentrated on the cinema, design, the Italian language and culinary culture. This time the focus was on a form of artistic expression – music – which the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio represented in an innovative and original way. Especially appreciated was the presence onstage, together with the 16 members of the orchestra, of Senegalese percussionist El Hadji Yeri Samb, testifying to the participation of Senegal, a Country from which Italy has received a diaspora of more than 100,000 legal immigrants, who have long been operating in a wide range of segments of the Italian society.