Sew Handpan, an Italian manufacturer of handpans and other musical instruments, has launched a sculptural musical installation called Sound Tree to enrich public spaces and wellness operations.

Designed in collaboration with an Italian artist and musician called Paolo Borghi, Sound Tree’s shape draws inspiration from the olive tree.

The sculpture is a musical instrument made of weather-resistant materials that anyone can play.

Suspended from a corten steel frame – or trunk – the aluminium tubular bells produce harmonic and meditative tones when struck with two simple mallets.

The installation provides an invitation to communities to engage in curiosity, relaxation, play and connection. The music created offers sound healing benefits to those either nearby in public spaces or during workshops in wellness centres.

Stefano Ingrosso, founder and CEO of Sew Handpan told Spa Business, “We want to give sound to spaces. We’re offering hotels, spas and wellness centres something that can be considered an asset for their venue. Sound Tree is a sculpture that can be used to furnish external and internal spaces, but it can also be used as a tool during sound healing sessions, events and experiences.”

“The Sound Tree is more than a sculpture,” added Ingrosso. “It’s a living bridge between art, nature and human emotion. Each note invites people to pause, listen and reconnect – turning any space into an experience of beauty, healing and togetherness.”

The price of a Sound Tree is €24,900 (US$29,000, £21,400) and a proportion of each sale will be invested in the reforestation of olive trees destroyed by a bacterial disease called Xylella fastidiosa. It is estimated that since the bacteria was first discovered in 2013 in Puglia, it has killed a third of the region’s 60 million olive trees – which once produced more than half of Italy’s olive oil.

Sew Handpan

Sew Handpan was established in 2016 in Lecce, Italy. It has become a top European manufacturer of handpans and it also produces a range of other sound healing instruments.

The company has opened five schools around the world to introduce people to the instruments. These schools can be found in US locations such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as European centres in Tenerife (Spain) and Brussels (Belgium).

Sew Handpan also operates Masseria Torre Luciana, a retreat centre that teaches guests how to use music for personal development. This is where the first Sound Tree was “planted” and where the company intends to build more instrumental installations in the form of a Sound Garden.