Festivals and cultural events Italy

Every year, Turin hosts the largest modern and contemporary art event in Italy. Artissima is an international fair, similar to the Fiac in Paris. A must-attend event for professionals, gallery owners, collectors and artists who often welcome the art-loving public, the four days are packed with discoveries. Since its first edition in 1994, Artissima has made a point of encouraging experimentation and research, highlighting emerging artists and current trends.

Created in Turin in 1978, this classical music festival is organized, since 2007, in partnership with Milan. For three weeks in September, the public can choose, in either city, concerts of high quality, with tickets at low prices. Auditoriums, churches, courtyards and squares transform the two historic cities into a huge musical parterre, where one can listen to symphonic music, chamber music and soloists. Each year the festival gathers about 30 000 music lovers. Shows are also planned for the young public.

The aim of this event is to introduce the public to Neapolitan independent cinema, as well as European and Mediterranean films never before seen in Italy, with occasional exposure to Hollywood cinema. The numerous screenings and meetings take place at various venues in the city: the Metropolitan cinema, the French Institute, the PAN, etc.

One of the events that heralds summer in Rome, and one of the most frequented by Romans and tourists alike. A rich calendar of events is presented from June to the end of August. All this takes place along the banks of the Tiber, an evocative setting that is devalued during the rest of the year, but comes back to life when the sun returns. The banks are laid out for the occasion between Tiberina Island and the Palace of Justice in Prati. Shows, concerts, entertainment and tastings of all kinds. See the program on the website.

During the "Giornate Fai di Primavera" (the equivalent of our Heritage Days), several unknown palaces, places and other private sites are exceptionally open to the public. Unusual and generally free, for all tastes and ages, these visits are an opportunity to explore Florence differently, but also the Tuscan hinterland. The dates vary each year, coinciding with the first weekend of spring in March.

Museums, palaces, churches, archives and private mansions usually closed to the public open their doors to visitors during the Culture Week organised by the City of Rome. Make sure you know before you leave because the date changes every year, but if you have the chance to travel during this period, you will save a lot on your budget because museum admissions are free or at a reduced rate! Special events and night openings are also on the week's agenda.

Every year, this open-air opera festival is held in the evocative setting of the Arena di Verona, the city's Roman amphitheater. An event not to be missed if you love opera singing! Four or five operas are usually performed over 40 days each year. The first edition of the festival dates back to 1913, the centenary of Verdi's birth, when Aida, one of his best-known operas, was performed.

This important festival of baroque classical music takes place every year in Piedmont, on the island of San Giulio, in the center of Lake Orta. An incredible setting! Five days of concerts punctuate the event, as well as numerous theatrical performances in period costume by candlelight. Remember to book your tickets online early, as the festival's insular location and local popularity mean that remaining seats in June are scarce.

It's the most important event around Lake Orta: during the last two weeks of August, there's a great show and an international fireworks competition in the middle of the lake, as well as fairs, cultural debates and numerous concerts. For the occasion, boat trips are organized from Orta, recommended to make the most of the festival! It celebrates San Vito, the patron saint of the town of Omegna along with Saint Ambrose. Religious celebrations take place in the Collegiata di Sant'Ambrogio.

This festival of Italian and French jazz music takes place in ports, downtown and on boats.

This international festival of blues and jazz music takes its name from the red rocks of Arbatax, where it was organized for a decade. Today, it is taking place in front of Santa Maria Navarrese Church during the month of August. Tickets can be purchased for each concert or'cumulative'place on site or in many stores on the island.

A large film festival is organized every year on Tavolara Island by the Argonauti di Olbia cultural association. This festival started with a small budget, but it has managed to become an increasingly important place in the Italian film panorama. Its success is fostered by the wild beauty of the island of Tavolara, which became practically a little Woodstock where hundreds of people gather the night around the big screen.

For the whole month of November, the Auditorium Parco della Musica puts jazz in the spotlight.

Since 1954, this major international violin competition has been contested by the world's greatest soloists and virtuosos in Genoa's Carlo Felice Theater. The winner, who makes it through the qualifying rounds, the semi-finals and wins the final, has the immense honor of being able to play on the famous violin of the master himself, Niccolò Paganini, the Cannone, kept in the Palazzo Tursi museum! All the prize-winning violinists have gone on to have exceptional careers. The ^58th edition will take place in October 2025.

The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma's summer program is now a festival! Opera, dance, theater, pop, symphonic and jazz concerts - in all, some 50 events are on offer between June and mid-August in the monumental setting of the Baths of Caracalla. The Teatro Grande and the Teatro del Portico become incredible backdrops for the shows on offer. Attending an opera at the Baths of Caracalla is a unique experience, so don't hesitate to book your ticket if you're in Rome during this period!

Roma Summer Fest is the major music festival of the Roman summer. Between June and September, the Fondazione Musica per Roma organizes a series of concerts by national and international artists in the Cavea of the Auditorium Parco della Musica, attracting large audiences. From pop and rock to jazz and electronica, the program is rich and varied, and every year big names like Bob Dylan and Sting take part in the festival in 2023. In 2024, Deep Purple, Marcus Miller and Ludovico Einaudi have also been announced.