Tag: italian summer events

“Feste sacre” in Italy: Italian holy feastivity July highlights

July is a pretty good month for going mad around the festivals in Italy.

Going North:

Redentore Church Feast Day is on the third Sunday in July on Venice’s Giudecca Island.

Il Palio is the Siena’s famous horse race which takes place around the central square, Piazza del Campo in July 2 and August 16. Instead,

L’Ardia di San Costantino is a horse race around the Sanctuary of San Costantino in the central Sardinian town of Sedilo, July 5-7.

A medieval festival is on the first week of July in Brisghella, medieval hill town and spa centre located in the Emilia-Romagna region, and if you are there go to  Liguria coast and see Nostra Signora di Montallegro  at the beginning of July in Rapallo.

Festa del Cristo degli Abissi has a procession to the underwater statue of Christ in San Fruttuoso on the Ligurian coast, July 29. Molded from medals of mariners and athletes and parts of ships and bells, the statue is dedicated to those who lost their lives at sea.

Going Central:

The first Saturday in July you can’t miss the Giostra della Quintana. It is a famous joust held in Foligno (Umbria) also the second Sunday in September. Here above 600 participants will compete, all wearing traditional 17th century clothes. Several thousand people crowd the piazza!

Going South:

Festa della Madonna Bruna is celebrated July 2 in the Basilicata region, exactly in the city of Matera, a mesmerizing town with caves  (the famous “Sassi”) really fampus for its atmosphere in southern Italy. A huge statue of the Madonna Bruna is paraded through town and….attacked! After being torn apart, the population burned it! And to top it all, you will assist to a spectacular fireworks display over the Sassi.

U Fistinu of Saint Rosalia is one of Sicily‘s biggest festivals (July 10-15) in Palermo. The procession brings a 50-foot high float: inside a statue of Saint Rosalia and a musical band.

Feast of Sant’Andrea the Apostle is well-known in Pescaraand it takes place the last Sunday in July: a huge parade of fishing boats off the coast welcomes the statue of the saint brought to la Marina di Pescara.

 

Summer in Italy=summer music festivals

Are you on trip in Italy and crazy for the music festivals or outdoor concerts? During summer  concerts in squares and public places throughout Italy spread out and are available for you in the Italian rich summer music festivals.

Arena in Verona for example is one of Italy’s most incredible settings for outdoor opera performances and concerts. Built in the 1st century BC,  Arena di Verona summer opera season usually starts in mid-June and finishes early September with fantastic performances.

Another great idea for opera maniac is the Puccini Festival in Tuscany at Torre del Lago, a glorious and small town on a lake near the coast. Here Giacomo Puccini lived, while composing many of his operas there. The new outdoor amphitheater is located by the lake and the festival will be held in July and August as well as other concerts and ballets.

Stresa Music Festival  is on Lake Maggiore, and it will showcast both well-known performers and young winners of music competitions in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues. Be prepared to listen to good music in theaters, castles, churches, gardens, and villas around the lake.

Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera will be helding summer concerts at the Baths of Caracalla, one of Rome’s scenic and spectacular ancient sites.

The Umbria Jazz Festival, held in Perugia, is one of Italy’s top music festivals. The festival draws performers from all over the world and in addition to ticket concerts there’s lots of music going on in Perugia’s squares and streets.

Ravello Concert Society offers classical music, from Spring through Fall in various indoor and outdoor venues  in the Amalfi Coast, south of Naples.

Sferisterio Opera Festival is held in Macerata, in central Marche region, from late July through early August.

Also the Rossini Opera Festival is held in Marche in Pesaro, in August, showing the works by Rossini in the Adriatic Arena.