David Monacchi (Urbino, 1970) studied in Italy, Canada, and the United States and currently teaches at the Rossini State Conservatoire in Pesaro as well as in various other institutions. An interdisciplinary artist, sound engineer, inventor, and author, he has been conducting long-term research on the sound heritage of the most remote and still untouched equatorial primary forests on the planet.
With the Fragments of Extinction project, Monacchi has developed an approach to scientific dissemination through sound art, based on high-definition 3D recordings he has carried out since 2002 in the Amazon, the Congo Basin, and Borneo, in order to raise awareness of the global biodiversity crisis.
He is the holder of the international patent Eco-Acoustic Theatre for the immersive experience of natural sound ecosystems, from which several listening spaces have been created, both permanent and mobile, in Italy and Denmark. Sonosfera® is his latest technological amphitheatre for sensory and cognitive experiences, inaugurated in Pesaro, a UNESCO City of Music, featuring 45 loudspeakers arranged in a spherical configuration around 60 listeners seated in a purpose-designed acoustically controlled arena.
Since 1992, he has created sound concerts and installations and has delivered lectures in the fields of scientific research, technological innovation, and artistic practice worldwide. Among the most significant are his keynote address at the plenary session of the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP-14), collaborations with IUCN and ICCROM, and with visual artists such as Mimmo Paladino, Kristin Jones, and William Kentridge.
His work has been featured in scientific journals such as Nature and PNAS. He is a founding member of the International Society of Ecoacoustics and the author of the film Dusk Chorus, awarded “Best European Science Film 2018”, as well as the book L’Arca dei Suoni Originari (Mondadori).

Fragments of Extintion

In the academic year 2025–2026, the course is taught by Prof. Nicola Pacetta.