Restoration of violin from Huyton Camp begins

The instrument, which belonged to the Apulian violinist Cesare Savino, was recently donated by his heirs to the ILMC Foundation

The ILMC Foundation is pleased to announce that the violin once owned by musician Cesare Savino of Sammichele di Bari (pictured below), recently donated by his heirs along with other archival materials, has been entrusted to luthier Bruno Di Pilato for restoration. After a thorough analysis of the magnificent instrument, the decision has been made to restore it to full working order, hopefully soon.

The violinist Cesare Savino (1908-1989)

On November 27, 1941, after the fall of Gondar and the surrender of Italian troops stationed in Italian East Africa to British troops, soldier-musician Cesare Savino, born in 1908 in Sammichele di Bari, was taken prisoner and interned at Huyton Camp (Liverpool). A stringed instrument virtuoso and an excellent violinist and mandolinist, Savino wrote a 59-page music notebook and another smaller one; he took his violin with him to Huyton Camp. Savino died in 1989 in his hometown.

Francesco Lotoro entrusts Savino's violin to the luthier Bruno Di Pilato

This is the second violin the ILMC Foundation has entrusted to the excellent violin maker Di Pilato for restoration. The restoration of Jan Stanislaw Hillenbrand's Auschwitz I Stammlager violin, which was completed in January 2022, is now part of the ILMC Foundation's collection. Numerous outstanding violinists have already played and appreciated it.

Cesare Savino's violin in its original case

The Foundation hopes to soon return Cesare Savino's magnificent Huyton Field violin to the international community.

*** For this and similar financially demanding recovery and preservation operations, your support remains essential. If you would like to support our efforts, you can send a donation by following the instructions at this link: https://www.fondazioneilmc.it/sostienici