The restored Italian organ of the Church Heritage Museum
The Italian organ of the Church Heritage Museum, donated by the Archdiocese of Cologne (Germany) in 2009, is a unique museum piece and the only Italian organ in Lithuania. Judging from the organ façade and other details, it is thought to be an organ of the Neapolitan tradition, which must have reached Germany from Southern Italy in the 20th century. There are about thirty similar organs built by the masters of the Galasso dynasty in various regional churches of Southern Italy – the churches of Campania, Basilicata, Apulia and Abruzzo, as well as in Malta.
The instrument in Vilnius was revoiced and restored by the Italian restorer Giovanni Pradella. In the recent years this master has restored quite many Italian historical organs (in Bergamo, Siena and elsewhere) and has a long-time experience in this field.