Since 1997, the year of the first historic concert in Sarajevo, the path of the Ravenna Festival has been closely intertwined with “The Roads of Friendship”, a series of lay pilgrimages touching on cities wounded by war, re-establishing ancient ties to places that have made history and building ‘bridges of brotherhood’: these concerts represent the Festival’s most intimate spirit, the climax of its cultural project, its utmost synthesis. Leading on these paths as a cultural ambassador to the world is Riccardo Muti, with the Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Musicians of Europe United—an ensemble of leading players from Europe’s major orchestras—and, most recently, the Cherubini Youth Orchestra. In line with the spirit of brotherhood that animates these concerts, and in the name of the universality of music, these orchestras and choirs have regularly welcomed some local musicians and given life to unforgettable events in such symbolic sites of ancient and contemporary history as Beirut, Jerusalem, Moscow, Yerevan, Istanbul, New York, Cairo, Damascus, Nairobi, Mirandola, Redipuglia, Otranto, Tokyo, Tehran, Kyiv, Athens, Paestum, Yerevan, Lourdes, Loreto, and – in 2023 – Ravenna, Jerash and Pompeii.
1997 SARAJEVO Skenderija Centre
1998 BEIRUT Forum de Beyrouth
1999 JERUSALEM Sultan’s Pool
2000 MOSCOW Bolshoi Theatre
2001 YEREVAN – ISTANBUL Arts and Sports Centre – Convention & Exhibition Centre
2002 NEW YORK Ground Zero – Avery Fisher Hall (Lincoln Center)
2003 IL CAIRO Giza plateau
2004 DAMASCUS Roman Theatre in Bosra
2005 EL DJEM Roman Theatre in El Djem
2006 MEKNÈS Lahdim square
2007 CONCERT FOR LEBANON Rome, Quirinal Palace
2008 MAZARA DEL VALLO Arena of the Mediterranean Sea
2009 SARAJEVO Olympic Hall Zetra
2010 ITALY-SLOVENIA-CROATIA Piazza Unità d’Italia, Trieste
2011 NAIROBI Uhuru Park
2012 CONCERT OF THE BROTHERHOODS Pala De André, Ravenna
2013 CONCERT FOR THE EARTHQUAKE-STRICKEN AREAS IN EMILIA REGION, Mirandola
2014 REDIPUGLIA Military Memorial, Fogliano di Redipuglia
2015 OTRANTO Otranto Cathedral
2016 TOKYO Bunka Kaikan and Metropolitan Theatre
2017 TEHRAN Vahdat Hall
2018 KYIV Sofiyska Square
2019 ATHENS Odeon of Herodes Atticus
2020 PAESTUM Archaeological site
2021 YEREVAN Opera Theatre
2022 LOURDES – LORETO Sanctuary of Our Lady – Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy House
2023 RAVENNA Palazzo Mauro De André – JERASH Roman South Theatre – POMPEII Large Theatre
