There are places where the noise of the world seems to stop, even if only for a few hours. The courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo became one of them last night. During his summer stay, Pope Leo XIV attended a symphonic concert organized in his honor by the Diocese of Albano, an evening the Pontiff used to deliver a profound message about the role of art in dark times: ” We live in a world where beauty is lacking .”

With a program of high technical and emotional intensity, the 55 musicians of the *I Musici di Parma* orchestra, under the baton of conductor Pier Carlo Orizio, filled the palace courtyard. The evening began with the brilliance of *La Polonaise*, from Niccolò Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in E major, performed by the virtuoso Marco Rogliano. The midpoint of the performance was marked by pianist Rossana Tomassi Golkar at the helm of a Bechstein grand piano (from the renowned Fabbrini collection), performing *Norma: Fantasia libre y variaciones para piano y orquesta*, a reinterpretation of Vincenzo Bellini’s legendary opera by the Oscar-winning Argentine composer Luis Bacalov, accompanied by visual projections inspired by the work.

A look beyond conflicts

Beyond the musical spectacle, the true resonance of the evening came with the words of Leo XIV himself at the end of the recital. The Pope, who fondly recalled his recent apostolic journey to Spain, connected the meaning of that trip with the purpose of the music: to invite people to lift their gaze.

In an impromptu yet powerful address, the Holy Father emphasized that beauty, art, and music are indispensable tools for human beings to discover that, even on a planet marked by wars, international tensions, and daily violence, ” there is something more than all of this .” Beauty, he insisted, helps to elevate the spirit toward the transcendent.

The event, promoted by the suburbicarian diocese of Albano as an explicit gesture of affection and communion with the Pope during his vacation, was described by its bishop, Monsignor Vincenzo Viva, as “a moment of true beauty and a shared gift.” In a society marked by countless economic and social divisions, the evening in Castel Gandolfo demonstrated that music is not mere entertainment, but a necessary balm to remind us of what makes us human.