After a few days full of intensity, emotion and lots of music, we are back home. Our stay in Sicily, within the framework of the Erasmus+ project, has been an unforgettable experience that we can hardly explain with words alone. Still, let's give it a try:
For five days we experienced much more than just a trip. Novara di Sicilia opened its doors wide and made us feel at home from the very first moment. And it wasn’t just any place: Novara is the home town of our friend Peppe, who has been part of our musical family for a long time. His embers and his involvement have been the key to make this adventure so special. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Peppe.
We would also like to give special thanks to Liliana, a member of the Novara band, who coordinated the whole local organisation with admirable dedication. Without her constant effort and attention to every detail, none of what we have experienced would have been possible.
The concerts in Castroreale, Milazzo and Novara have been key moments of the trip. We played in front of very special audiences, on different stages, shared with other musicians and played the pieces together, which we had been preparing for so long. But beyond the music, there has also been room for good humour and conviviality: from a contest to throw a rolling cheese down the street, to memorable party nights at the pub in the square, where music and complicity were the protagonists.
The days on the beach were our oasis: bathing, sun, games, conversations and shared relaxation. And at night, we moved again to offer the best of us in each concert. Especially emotional was Sunday, which began with a charanga through the streets of the village, a lunch together and the final concert in the square of Novara. For dinner: a popular paella that we cooked for the Novara band, accompanied by a picaeta (and a lot of prosecco) that put an end to the stay with joy and brotherhood.
This Erasmus+ has been much more than a cultural exchange: it has been a real musical, human and collective adventure. We come back with a full heart, with new friends, with more strength as a band and with the certainty that music is a powerful tool to connect people and peoples. We have achieved our goal: to break frontiers with music!
Thanks to all the people who made it possible: from the committee who organised everything, to every musician, every family, every volunteer and every member of the village who welcomed us as if we were from there. And especially thanks to Peppe and Liliana for making Novara our second home. We also want to thank our directors, Ripoll and Coleto, for the work done.
And above all, thanks to the music, which has brought us this far.