Although one of Italy’s smallest regions, Liguria has long been a destination favoured by writers and artists such as Byron, Shelley and D’Annunzio, and the picturesque villages of the Cinque Terre, with their colourful houses, cliff-hanging trails and terraced slopes are a Unesco World Heritage Site.
The region also saw upwrds of 500 events through the 2021 summer season, including August’s Musica dal Mare (Music from the Sea), a unique series of evenings in three of the Riviera’s key locations – Calata Mandraccio in Genova’s Old Port, Giardini a mare in Santa Margherita Ligure and Rapallo promenade.
The technical set-up for these comprised a maxi video screen, a lighting rig combining moving-head fixtures and conventional units and sound system – the whole rig being installed on a huge barge, towed into place by a tug.
The Outline sound system chosen for the initiative, a ‘first’ in Liguria, comprising two vertical hangs of 15 Mantas elements each (in LR configuration) and 12 DBS 18-2 twin 18-inch subwoofers under the stage. Power was courtesy of the Brescia manufacturer’s T Series amplifiers.
Manning the console was DJ Federico Guttadauro, who treated tourists, after a hot summer’s day on the beach, to sets alternating his personal treatment of top international hits with sounds for the younger members of the audiences (chill-out, minimal and ambient), accompanying the splendid settings’ sunsets.
Everything was staged in-line with relevant social distancing and anti-contagion regulations, and the first two dates in Genova and Santa Margherita attracted both tourists and locals, who appreciated the initiative, which enabled them to stop and enjoy an aperitif or dinner with a unique musical background. In Rapallo, even the town’s mayor Carlo Bagnasco was among those who made certain not to miss the evening.
A/V contractor for the events was Show Technologies, a company headquartered in Recco with 15 years’ experience in the design, rental, distribution and installation of professional audio, video and lighting systems for the entertainment and event industries.
‘The event was anything but run-of-the-mill from a logistics point of view, and the Liguria Region’s initial concept underwent several changes as things proceeded, adapting to the weather conditions, which were unusual for August, with strong northwest winds causing the programme to be postponed for a few days,’ reports Show Technologies’ Sacha Bozzo.
‘We designed the sound system bearing in mind that it had to cover tourist ports with the public at a distance of between 50m and 150m from the points at which the barge was moored. The local coastguards then identified precisely the safest mooring areas, which unfortunately didn’t always coincide with the ideal positions as far as we were concerned. For example, when we arrived in Rapallo, we found that there was a distance of approximately 250m of sea between the rig and the first spectators. In spite of this, the sound reached the promenade loud and clear – which surprised even us.’
More: www.outline.it
