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CIVICO 33 - "ORTA NOVA SOUND LAB": FROM CAPITANATA TO "BROADWAY WORLD", THE "COMMUNITY BAND" PROJECT CONQUERS NEW YORK The social laboratory promoted by ANBG and the Ministry of Culture lands on the largest theatrical network in the world thanks to the article co-written by Chris Rabinowitz and the Orthese author Luciano Magaldi Sardella. There is a brass thread connecting Piazza Mario Frasca to Broadway. "Orta Nova Sound Lab" is the Community and Social Regeneration Band through Music, the project officially presented on September 21 at the C-Lab MAO FM 19.77 by brothers Luca and Erminio Ferrandina, which is experiencing unprecedented media attention for a band initiative born in the province of Foggia. The journalistic success is marked by its appearance on September 28 in Broadway World, the most authoritative global portal dedicated to theater and live performance, based in New York with over 1.5 million monthly global visits. This is not an insignificant result, projecting a story from the Apulian periphery into the realm of international cultural information. The article, titled "Orta Nova Sound Lab Launches Youth Community Band in Southern Italy," is co-authored by New York editor Chris Rabinowitz, a journalist for the American publication, and his Italian co-author Luciano Magaldi Sardella, an international author originally from Orta Nova, an engineer, academic journalist, and researcher active between Italy and abroad. The dual Italian-American signature symbolizes how a "good local practice" can become global news when told with expertise and roots. The Project: the Band as Social Regeneration "Orta Nova Sound Lab" is promoted by the National Association of Marching Bands (ANBG), chaired by Benedetto Grillo, and has been approved for funding under the public notice of the Ministry of Culture as per D.D.G. April 7, 2026, rep. n. 149, aimed at "Enhancing research and dissemination of musical practices in peripheral and areas of high social vulnerability." It is realized with the support of the Municipality of Orta Nova and with the collaboration of a solid civic network: the A.P.S. MAO FM 19.77, the "A. Olivetti" Higher Education Institute, the "Sandro Pertini" Comprehensive Institute, the Music Art association, and the C.I.S.A. of Foggia. As highlighted by "Broadway World," this is the first initiative in Italy to reinterpret the distinctive tradition of marching bands and youth orchestras within a ministry grant dedicated to urban peripheries and social vulnerability. A model that explicitly dialogues with the spirit of the so-called "Caivano Decree" (D.L. 123/2023) for combating youth discomfort, educational poverty, and juvenile delinquency. The idea, in its disarming simplicity, was summarized by the project director for ANBG, Antonella Spagnoletti: "The band is aggregation! The band is cohesion. Bringing these kids together to learn and live differently from the social world is among the primary objectives of our association." This concept was reiterated by the Mayor of Orta Nova, Ing. Domenico Di Vito: "This is an important project that can definitely make a difference compared to the past because it has all the ingredients to connect the entire world of culture and social issues that exists in Orta Nova and needs to be valued. The administration's commitment is to ensure sustainability, structure, and continuity over time." At the press conference presentation, moderated by journalist Giuseppe Di Bisceglie, participated alongside President Grillo, Director Spagnoletti, and Mayor Di Vito, Regional Councillor Grazia Maria Starace, Councillor for relationships with the third sector Sebastiano Battista, Councillor for Culture Vittoria Mastrogiacomo, and educational professor Alfredo Coppola, delegate of the Olivetti Institute. Why the News Became International The "Orta Nova Sound Lab" marching band project demonstrates that when a project has anti-mafia roots, pedagogical value, and a credible institutional network, the press responds. From local and national outlets like Cassa Armonica, Ansa Puglia, TGNorba, Corriere della Sera Bari, RaiNews TGR Puglia, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, Amica9TV, Brindisi In, Blasting News Italia, TRM Network, Secolo XIX, FoggiaToday, PlayNews24, Stato Quotidiano, and many others that well-documented the conference, it reached BroadwayWorld, which viewed the Orthese experience as a "social laboratory" capable of responding to the mafia with music. This leap in scale comes from joint efforts and the bridging work done by Luciano Magaldi Sardella, who managed to translate for the English-speaking audience alongside New York editor Chris Rabinowitz the deep meaning of a village band that in Apulia is not folklore, but a civil presence, a concrete alternative to screens and disintegration. In a South often narrated only for its emergencies, Orta Nova chooses to be told for its ability to generate community. And this time, the news has made its way around the world, starting from a square in Daunia. The Schedule The path, entirely free, includes instrumental workshops for brass and percussion, ensemble music lessons, and collective rehearsals with qualified teachers and conductors, open to aspiring musicians, families, schools, and citizens. The program that attracted the attention of national and now international press is organized as follows: October 2026: parade of bands marching through the streets and public spaces of Orta Nova, to recover the historical value of the band as a popular and identity expression. November-December 2026: high-profile concert season with the Grand Band Concert of Conversano and the Grand Band Concert "Biagio Abbate" City of Bisceglie, artistic training for the young students. Focus on inclusion: a special evening dedicated to female music with the Orchestra Note di Puglia, a formation composed entirely of professionals, to reinforce the values of equal opportunities. January 2027: first official concert of the newly formed Community Band of Orta Nova, a foundational act and public restitution of the work done. (translated)

CIVICO 33 — “ORTA NOVA SOUND LAB”: FROM CAPITANATA TO “BROADWAYWORLD”, THE “COMMUNITY BAND” PROJECT CONQUERS NEW YORK SOURCE: https://www.civico93.it/orta-nova-sound-laab-dalla-capitanata-a-broadwayworld-il-progetto-banda-di-comunita-conquista-new-york/ The social laboratory promoted by ANBG and the Ministry of Culture has landed on the world’s largest theatre network, thanks to the article co-authored by Chris Rabinowitz and the Orta Nova-born author Luciano Magaldi Sardella. There is a brass thread linking Piazza Mario Frasca to Broadway. It is called “Orta Nova Sound Lab” — the Community and Social Regeneration Band through Music — the project officially presented on 21 September last at the C-Lab MAO FM 19.77 of brothers Luca and Erminio Ferrandina, which is enjoying unprecedented media coverage for a band-cultural initiative born in the Province of Foggia. Its journalistic success was sealed on 28 September last by its arrival on BroadwayWorld, the world’s most authoritative portal dedicated to theatre and live performance, based in New York with over 1.5 million global monthly visits. A result that was by no means a foregone conclusion, which projects a story from the Apulian periphery into the international cultural news circuit. The article, entitled Orta Nova Sound Lab Launches Youth Community Band in Southern Italy, is jointly by-lined by New York editor Chris Rabinowitz, journalist for the American publication, and his Italian co-author Luciano Magaldi Sardella, an international author originally from Orta Nova, engineer, academic journalist, and researcher active between Italy and abroad. The dual Italo-American by-line symbolises how a “local good practice” can become global news when it is recounted with expertise and rootedness. The Project: The Band as Social Regeneration “Orta Nova Sound Lab” is promoted by the Associazione Nazionale Bande da Giro (ANBG), chaired by Benedetto Grillo, and was admitted for funding under the public call of the Ministry of Culture pursuant to Director General Decree of 7 April 2026, reg. no. 149, aimed at the “Strengthening of research activities and dissemination of musical practices in peripheries and in areas of high social vulnerability”. It is realized with the support of the Comune di Orta Nova and with the collaboration of a solid civic network: A.P.S. MAO FM 19.77, the Istituto di Istruzione Superiore “A. Olivetti”, the Istituto Comprensivo “Sandro Pertini”, the Music Art association, and the C.I.S.A. of Foggia. As BroadwayWorld itself emphasised, this is the first initiative in Italy to reinterpret the distinctive tradition of touring bands (bande da giro) and youth orchestras within a ministerial call dedicated to urban peripheries and social vulnerability. A model that dialogues explicitly with the spirit of the so-called “Caivano Decree” (Law Decree 123/2023) for combating youth distress, educational poverty, and juvenile crime. The idea, in its disarming simplicity, was summarised by the project director for ANBG, Antonella Spagnoletti: “The band is aggregation! The band is cohesion. Bringing these youngsters together, educating them, and enabling them to live in a manner different from the social-media world is among the primary objectives of our association.” A concept reiterated by the Mayor of Orta Nova, Eng. Domenico Di Vito: “This is an important project that can certainly make a difference compared with the past, because all the ingredients are there to network the entire cultural and social world that exists in Orta Nova and that must be valorised. The administration’s commitment is to ensure sustainability, structure, and continuity over time.” Taking part in the launch press conference, moderated by journalist Giuseppe Di Bisceglie, in addition to President Grillo, Director Spagnoletti, and Mayor Di Vito, were Regional Councillor Grazia Maria Starace, Councillor for relations with the third sector Sebastiano Battista, Councillor for Culture Vittoria Mastrogiacomo, and educational professor Alfredo Coppola, contact person for the Olivetti Institute. Why the Story Went International The “Orta Nova Sound Lab” band project demonstrates that when a project has anti-mafia roots, pedagogical value, and a credible institutional network, the press responds. From local and national titles such as Cassa Armonica, Ansa Puglia, TGNorba, Corriere della Sera Bari, RaiNews TGR Puglia, La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, Amica9TV, Brindisi In, Blasting News Italia, TRM Network, Secolo XIX, FoggiaToday, PlayNews24, Stato Quotidiano, and many others, which thoroughly documented the conference, the coverage reached “Broadway World”, which read the Orta Nova experience as a “social laboratory” capable of answering the mafia with music. This change of scale derives from joint work and also from the liaison work carried out by Luciano Magaldi Sardella, who, together with New York editor Chris Rabinowitz, succeeded in translating for an Anglophone audience the profound meaning of a town band which, in Apulia, is not folklore, but a civil garrison, a concrete alternative to the screen and to social disintegration. In a South often narrated only for its emergencies, Orta Nova chooses to be recounted for its capacity to generate community. And this time, the news has travelled around the world, starting from a piazza in the Daunia. The Calendar The pathway, which is entirely free of charge, provides instrumental workshops for wind and percussion, ensemble music lessons, and collective rehearsals with qualified teachers and conductors, open to aspiring musicians, families, schools, and citizens. The programme that has attracted the attention of the national and now international press is structured as follows: October 2026: parade of marching bands through the streets and public spaces of Orta Nova, to recover the historic value of the band as a popular and identity-based expression. November–December 2026: high-profile concert season with the Gran Concerto Bandistico di Conversano and the Gran Concerto Bandistico “Biagio Abbate” Città di Bisceglie, an artistic training ground for young pupils. Inclusion Focus: a special evening dedicated to women in music with the Orchestra Note di Puglia, an ensemble composed entirely of professional women musicians, to reinforce the values of equal opportunities. January 2027: first official concert of the newborn Community Band of Orta Nova, a foundational act and public restitution of the work accomplished. (translated)

Io Conte, NON lo voto. Perché mai dovrei farlo, per passare da una despota ad un opportunista? Articolo in collaborazione con AI DALLA RUSSIA A BIBBIANO, PASSANDO PER IL MIRACOLO DELLA TAP: LE FAKE NEWS E LA PROPAGANDA CHE HANNO COLPITO IL PD. COSA C'È DI VERO O PRESUNTO? Analizzando la recente storia politica italiana, l'ascesa del Movimento 5 Stelle e il violento scontro ideologico con il Partito Democratico si sono consumati su terreni strategici: dalle relazioni con la Russia di Putin al caso Bibbiano, fino alla durissima battaglia contro il gasdotto TAP. In tutti questi casi, il tempo e la giustizia hanno ridefinito i confini tra fatti reali e clamorose fake news. IL CAPITOLO RUSSIA, L'ENIGMA CONTE E LA FORTUNA DELLA TAP: Le ipotesi di un aiuto da parte della Russia di Putin all'ascesa del M5S si muovono sul confine tra relazioni politiche accertate e sospetti mai provati in tribunale. I contatti dei fedelissimi sono documentati: nel 2016 Manlio Di Stefano volò a Mosca al congresso di Russia Unita definendo l'Ucraina "uno stato fantoccio dell'Occidente", e Alessandro Di Battista sostenne a lungo la necessità di assecondare la visione geopolitica del Cremlino. Il punto di massimo interesse per Putin fu l'aspra resistenza del M5S contro il gasdotto TAP in Puglia: bloccare l'opera avrebbe favorito il monopolio energetico russo. Fortunatamente, una volta al governo nel 2018, il Movimento dovette fare retromarcia per evitare penali miliardarie, permettendo il completamento dell'infrastruttura. Oggi, nel pieno della crisi energetica e geopolitica mondiale, la TAP si è rivelata una salvezza assoluta per l'Italia: trasportando miliardi di metri cubi di gas dall'Azerbaigian, è diventata una delle principali rotte che ha permesso al nostro Paese di emanciparsi dal ricatto del gas russo e dal putinismo, calmierando i prezzi e salvandoci dal blackout energetico. Aver fatto l'opera "nonostante" i 5 Stelle è stata la nostra fortuna strategica. Per molti osservatori, l'attuale riluttanza di Giuseppe Conte a inviare aiuti militari a Kiev – che mette a rischio il "campo largo" con il PD – è vista come una "pistola fumante" di questa continuità geopolitica, anche se Conte rigetta le accuse parlando di puro pacifismo per costringere le parti a un tavolo di negoziato. Sul piano VERO c'è stata una forte convergenza comunicativa (con i blog vicini a Casaleggio che rilanciavano i network statali russi), ma sul piano PRESUNTO la magistratura italiana e il Copasir non hanno mai trovato alcuna prova di finanziamenti occulti o illeciti in denaro da Mosca per far vincere il M5S. IL CASO BIBBIANO E IL CROLLO DEL TEOREMA GIUDIZIARIO: Se il caso Russia si è basato su influenze geopolitiche, il caso Bibbiano (l'inchiesta del 2019 sui presunti affidi illeciti in Val d'Enza) è stato l'epicentro di una massiccia campagna di disinformazione utilizzata dal M5S (con Luigi Di Maio che coniò lo slogan "il partito di Bibbiano") e dal centrodestra per abbattere politicamente il PD. La fake news principale fu quella di associare l'intero Partito Democratico a presunti "lavaggi del cervello" e "elettroshock" sui bambini: in realtà, la terapia utilizzata era la legittima psicoterapia EMDR e l'unico legame strutturale con il PD era il sindaco locale, Andrea Carletti, indagato solo per questioni amministrative (abuso d'ufficio e falso) e poi completamente prosciolto. Il ridimensionamento giudiziario è stato totale: le sentenze hanno visto 11 assoluzioni su 14 imputati, smantellando quasi integralmente l'impianto accusatorio. Figure centrali come lo psicoterapeuta Claudio Foti sono state assolte in appello, e i giudici hanno stabilito chiaramente che non vi fu alcun sistema criminale, denunciando come il "clamore mediatico e politico abbia travolto i bambini e i loro familiari". IN SINTESI: La storia recente dimostra che il PD ha dovuto subire due violente ondate di propaganda. Da una parte, i sospetti di un asse Mosca-M5S alimentati da una reale sponda geopolitica originaria (dalle storiche barricate contro la TAP – opera che oggi ci salva dalla crisi energetica – fino alle attuali posizioni di Conte sull'Ucraina) ma privi di riscontri su fondi neri russi. Dall'altra, la drammatica strumentalizzazione di un'inchiesta locale a Bibbiano, trasformata in una fabbrica di fake news elettorali per accusare ingiustamente un partito di crimini contro i bambini, un teorema politico che la stessa giustizia italiana ha infine radicalmente demolito nei tribunali.

The party of Vannacci is this. A party of traitors that wants to destroy the European Union and hand Italy over to Russia. Just like Di Battista, who openly says that Italy should politically unite with Russia. The red-browns are the Bolsheviks of the 21st century. https://t.co/xFF7foXVWp #UnioneEuropea #Italia #Politica (translated)

Alessandro Di Battista racconta la sua lotta contro un tumore asportato quasi completamente e la necessità di cure, mentre critica le condizioni del popolo cubano e riflette sulla situazione politica in Italia, escludendo una sua candidatura per il momento. #AlessandroDiBattista #Cuba #Salute

Alessandro Di Battista torna in tv: “Ho avuto un malore in virtù di un edema cerebrale dovuto alla presenza di un tumore che mi è stato diagnosticato a Cuba. Mi hanno salvato la vita. Seguirò le cure ma non amo al retorica del guerriero”. https://t.co/kwaL2yeBHH #DiBattista #cancro #salute

Io sto molto meglio e ho voglia di ricominciare a fare quello che ho sempre fatto: scrivere e denunciare. Grazie di cuore a tutti voi per aver continuato a sostenere questo canale in queste settimane davvero delicate. Nei prossimi giorni vi racconterò tutto quello che è successo. Intanto, vi lascio qui sotto una foto con alcuni dei medici cubani che mi hanno salvato la vitaLo scrive Alessandro Di Battista su Substack postando una foto con i medici cubani nell'ospedale di L'Avana, dove è stato ricoverato e operato questo mese. #Cuba #Sanità #BloccoStatunitense

Alessandro Di Battista ha condiviso su Substack una foto con i medici cubani che lo hanno curato a L'Avana, esprimendo gratitudine per le loro cure e denunciando le conseguenze del blocco statunitense contro Cuba, che continua a gravare sulla vita dei cubani. #Cuba #Sanità #BloccoStatunitense