Music as a tool for inclusion and social change is a theme that often returns in the pages of The Good in Town: from the accessible radio that helps young people and people with disabilities build autonomy and find opportunities for self-expression, to projects that use work and training to make the path of reintegration set out in Article 27 of the Italian Constitution a concrete reality. Article 27 states that punishment must not consist of inhumane treatment and must aim at the re-education of the convicted person.
The new Music Room, inaugurated in Wing VII of Milan’s Bollate Prison (officially the Second Correctional Facility, or “II Casa di Reclusione”, a facility for sentenced prisoners), brings these two dimensions together. The space has been completely renovated to host rehearsals, courses and musical activities for incarcerated people, as part of a path that over the years has involved educators, musicians, volunteers and outside organizations.
At first, it was mostly some of the inmates who passed their musical skills on to others, but releases and transfers made it hard to keep the courses going. Collaboration with the Fondazione Antonio Carlo Monzino made it possible to involve qualified teachers and volunteers on a stable basis; since 2017, Milano Musica, a Milan-based contemporary music organization, has been a partner in the project. The renovation of the room covered soundproofing, systems, lighting and air conditioning, with support from Fondazione Monte di Lombardia, a Lombardy-based philanthropic foundation, and Mitsubishi Electric Italia.
An activity that also trains people to be with others
In prison, a music room can serve a very concrete function. Learning an instrument takes perseverance, listening to one another and respect for the group’s pace. Playing together also means coming prepared to rehearsal, coordinating, accepting corrections and completing a shared piece of work.
The project gave rise to the 7Band, formed by inmates of Wing VII, who chose their own name, created a logo and played at the inauguration. It is one of the most visible results of an activity that has gradually moved beyond the scope of a simple workshop to become a regular fixture in the life of the wing.
“The Music Room is a concrete example of how spaces inside a penal institution can become places of relationship, learning and accountability. Through its ability to engage people and foster collaboration, music offers incarcerated people an important opportunity for personal growth and expression. This result was made possible by the shared work of institutions, volunteers, associations and private entities that believed in the educational value of this path,” said Giorgio Leggieri, Director of Milan’s Bollate Second Correctional Facility.
Bollate within a struggling prison system
The value of experiences like this emerges even more clearly when looking at the overall state of Italian prisons. As of 30 September 2026, 66,063 people were in custody against an official capacity of 51,295 places across Italy’s 189 institutions, an occupancy rate of about 129%. In Lombardy, there were 9,317 inmates for just over 6,000 places. Italy has already been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights over prison overcrowding (Torreggiani v. Italy, 2013).
Overcrowding has a devastating impact on prison life, leading to poor hygiene, greater mental fragility and a series of conditions that move people away from rehabilitation. Combined with a lack of activities, projects, education and job opportunities, they amount to a total failure of the prison system and of what should be its mission. Indeed, the suicide rate in prison is also rising, according to Antigone, an Italian NGO that monitors prison conditions.
Bollate has long been a special case: it is the prison most requested by inmates, because it is a model institution. We have previously written about its restaurant, Ingalera, which operates inside the prison and is open to the public. Opened in 2000 as a reduced-security (“attenuated custody”) institution, Bollate was designed to leave more room for rehabilitation activities and work. According to Ministry of Justice data, in September 2026 it held 1,617 inmates for 1,267 official places, about 128% of capacity and in line with the national average.
Its model provides for open cells for at least ten hours a day, study, work and training activities, and a “treatment pact” requiring active participation in the programs offered. Of about 1,300 inmates considered in 2025, about 500 were working, the recidivism rate is significantly reduced. This is consistent with the study by economists Giovanni Mastrobuoni and Daniele Terlizzese, “Leave the Door Open? Prison Conditions and Recidivism”, which has in recent years been inspiring innovative prison practices and indicates that the Bollate model reduces the likelihood of reoffending by about 6–10 percentage points.
A best practice built over time
It is within this framework that the new Music Room makes sense. At Bollate, opportunities for work, study, cultural activities and relationships with the surrounding community are part of an approach developed over the years, with results that have drawn attention even from outside the prison system.
The “Musica in Carcere” (Music in Prison) project, launched in 2010, is now also present at San Vittore, Milan’s main remand prison, with percussion workshops, and at the Cesare Beccaria Juvenile Detention Institute with intensive programs.
The new room in Wing VII thus adds a piece to a model that tries to fill the time of the sentence with activities capable of producing skills and relationships that remain useful after release.
