You Can Bid for a Chance to Play Chess With Andrea Bocelli as Part of a Charity Auction for the Italian Maestro’s Foundation

The unusual sale offers art and opportunities to meet the Italian tenor.

Jo Lawson-Tancred, September 6, 2022

A special online charity auction is offering objects and experiences related to the world-renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli—including a chance to challenge the maestro to a game of chess, one of his greatest passions.

The sale, which runs until September 18, will take place on the online marketplace Catawiki, in partnership with the Andrea Bocelli Foundation (ABF). It will support the "ABF Voices Of" project, which gives young people from disadvantaged backgrounds opportunities to take part in choruses all over the world and to benefit from team building, improving their skills, and nurturing their creativity.

Highlights include the chance to attend the maestro's 2023 Teatro del Silenzio concert, followed by a meet-and-greet with Bocelli and a fundraiser dinner at his house. Also on offer is a lunch with Bocelli's wife, Veronica Berti Bocelli, at the family's exclusive Bagno Alpemare beach resort and a wine tasting a their Tuscan estate.

Up for grabs is a wrought-iron artwork, a wall-hanging made by hand using iron oil barrels that is typical of the Haiti region, which is currently in the foundation's collection. Autographed memorabilia and tickets to an upcoming concert by the singer-songwriter Giovanni Caccamo are among the other offerings currently on sale.

The ABF is a non-profit dedicated to alleviating issues like poverty, illiteracy, and poor health internationally. The "ABF Voices Of" project began in 2016 with "Voices of Haiti." More recently, a chorus has been formed with Ukrainian refugee children and a "Voices of Jerusalem" project is planned for the near future.

"By leveraging music education as a tool for empowerment, the project has had a remarkable impact on the lives of children," said Veronica Berti Bocelli, the vice chair of ABF.

As of press time, the bid on the chess match was up to €2,000 ($2,300).

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