Oggetti musicali, produzione di identità e interazione sociale

Besides sound, the essence of music is inherent in the materiality of the objects that graphically represent, concretely produce, and ideally describe that sound: books, instruments, paintings. The history and didactics of music, therefore, must also include these objects among its research and teaching contents, especially if these are aimed at illustrating the meaning and role of music in a specific era or environment. With a methodological support from anthropological studies on the notion of gift, on the social meaning of collecting, and on the symbolic functions of objects owned, requested or donated, this study probes into the hermeneutic effectiveness of this perspective by specifically investigating the musical collecting of the Duke of Urbino, Guidubaldo II Della Rovere. The study reveals how much the Duke's interests for musical objects have contributed to define his identity and his role in relations with foreign gentlemen of his time.