The founders
The Istituto Nazionale Tostiano was created by the City Council resolution in 1983.
The figures of Francesco Sanvitale and Tommaso Caraceni have been fundamental: as the artistic director, the vice president and president of the institution, for twenty-five years they left an indelible mark on their work.
To the two we add the figure of Giampiero Tintori, who as president of the Institute but above all a well-known musicologist and director of the Museo Teatrale alla Scala in Milan contributed to building the many institutional relationships with the Milanese society and Casa Ricordi that were revealed strategically important over the years
Francesco Sanvitale
Musicologist, critic and music organizer, Francesco Sanvitale has been involved in important musical institutions: the Società Aquilana dei Concerti “B. Barattelli “, the Istituto Nazionale per lo Sviluppo Musicale del Mezzogiorno, the Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese, the Solisti Aquilani. He has worked extensively in newspapers and magazines (Il Messaggero, Il Centro, Paese Sera, Opera, Suono Sud, Teatro and Regione, Proscenio) and as an essayist and lecturer he has collaborated with prestigious international institutions. Founder and Director of the Istituto Tostiano of Ortona, he edited for the Casa RICORDI of Milan the complete edition of the songs for singing and piano by F. P. Tosti. He was artistic director of the Stagione Lirica Teramana of the TERCAS Foundation, and a consultant of the musical projects: he also held a position with the Carichieti Foundation. He has published several volumes for important publishing houses: Ricordi, EDT, Carsa, Cangemi, Ashgate of London.
The other Francesco
Tommaso Caraceni (Ortona 20 March 1923 – 2 June 2013)
His professional career, after the diploma of Accountant and Commercial Expert, was held within the Public Administration. Having obtained the License to qualify for the functions of Municipal Secretary, he was Director of the Financial Services of the Municipality (1944-1988) and of the Data Processing Center – Coordinator of Public Relations, Director of the Company of Residence and Tourism since the Constitution (1969), Secretariat of the ECA and Municipal Asylum (1972). Animator, in the post-war period (1944), of the shooting activity of the City of Ortona (85% destroyed by the bombings of the Allies and the Germans), founder of the periodical “La sveglia”, of the University Circle, Ortonese Filodrammatica and Pro-Loco. He was one of the founders of the Istituto Tostiano di Ortona. At the time of the establishment of the Institute (10/16/1983) he was appointed vice-president. Appointed President in 1998, he held office until 01.08.2008. Caraceni was consul of the Italian Touring Club (1959-1972) and has received numerous honors:
• Knight of Merit of the Italian Republic (decree 2.06.1960)• Commendatore al merit of the Italian Republic (2.06.1986)• Knight of the order of Saint Sylvester Pope (14.3.75)• Commendatore of the Order of San Silvestro (21.11.1985)• Meritorious member of the Italian Touring Club (1.05.1997)• Awarded, in December 2007, of the “Premio 28 dicembre” of the Municipality of Ortona – for giving prestige to the City of Ortona and disseminating knowledge in Italy and abroad.
Giampiero Tintori
The maestro Giampiero Tintori, who died on 10 February 1997 in Milan, has been one of the most active and important Italian musicologists of the post-war period, very well known abroad. Tintori was born in Genoa in 1921 and after his musical studies in Milan, of paleography at the University of Cremona and his participation in the Russian campaign as an officer from 1941 to 1943, he began his musicological activity at the University of Pavia and at the Institute “G. Donizetti “of Bergamo. He was first vice-director, and then, from 1965, director of the Museo Teatrale alla Scala in Milan. To the activity of musicologist (tens of his publications for the major Italian publishing houses like UTET, Rusconi, Ricordi, Feltrinelli), Tintori joined that of composer of operas, ballets, symphonic and chamber music, revision of works of the Italian seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. For the Istituto Tostiano he edited, with Ricordi editions, and together with Riccardo Allorto and Francesco Sanvitale the complete edition of songs for singing and piano by Francesco Paolo Tosti.