Budrio's Ocarina Festival Celebrates 19th Century Instrument with Global Reach
The International Ocarina Festival, held in Budrio, Bologna, draws musicians and fans from the U.S. and Japan for a variety of concerts, workshops, and markets. The ocarina was invented by Giuseppe Donati in Budrio when he was just 17 years old in 1853. In 1863, he established the "Ocarina Concert" quintet, which performed in Bologna in 1869 and toured across Europe. By 1870, brothers Ercole and Alberto Mezzetti from Budrio began manufacturing the instrument in Paris, while Cesare Vicinelli developed the first metal molds. The Budrio ocarina received its De.C.O. certification in 2024. The Budrio Ocarina Museum features many artifacts, and the G. B. Martini Conservatory offers ocarina instruction. Its fame surged with the release of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in November 1998.
Key facts
- Giuseppe Donati invented the ocarina in Budrio, Bologna in 1853 at age 17.
- The International Ocarina Festival in Budrio occurs biennially, attracting global participants.
- Donati formed the "Ocarina Concert" quintet in 1863, performing opera excerpts by Verdi and Rossini.
- The Budrio ocarina received De.C.O. certification as Emilia-Romagna cultural heritage in 2024.
- The G. B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna established the first ocarina chair in 2023.
- Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) boosted the instrument's international popularity.
- Artisan Anita Feng reported doubled ocarina sales in Washington state after the game's release.
- The Budrio Ocarina Museum houses extensive collections of instruments and historical documents.
Entities
Artists
- Giuseppe Donati
- Giuseppe Verdi
- Gioacchino Rossini
- Christian Paolini
- Ercole Mezzetti
- Alberto Mezzetti
- Cesare Vicinelli
- Guido Chiesa
- Emilio Cesari
- Arrigo Mignani
- Fabio Menaglio
- Anita Feng
Institutions
- Festival internazionale dell'ocarina di Budrio
- Museo dell'ocarina di Budrio
- Conservatorio G. B. Martini di Bologna
- Gruppo Ocarinistico Budriese
- Nintendo
- New York Times
- Atlas Obscura
Locations
- Budrio
- Bologna
- Italy
- Emilia-Romagna
- Ferrara
- Padova
- Trieste
- Roma
- Paris
- France
- Berlin
- Germany
- Vienna
- Austria
- Moscow
- Russia
- London
- United Kingdom
- Washington
- United States
- China
- Japan
- South Korea