THE ORGAN


Among the oldest, among the largest. On either side of the main altar of the Basilica of San Petronio there are two organs famous for being, chronologically speaking, among the most “elderly” of Italy. One is on the left side of the presbytery and dates back to 1596, by Baldassarre Malamini, while the oldest organ, located on the right side, was built between 1471 and 1475 by Lorenzo di Giacomo da Prato.
The first large tool with independent registers – has ten, almost twice the usual number – the right organ is by far the longest in the category. The Petronian organ does not in fact reflect the highest ambitions of the art and organism of the time, which had such high demands that they remained long unsurpassed. This is why the organ of the basilica can be defined as “unique”.