From 18 July to 26 September 2026, the Tuscania Summer Festival returns to one of Italy’s most beautiful medieval towns with more than two months of music, culture and international encounters.
The 2026 edition opens with The City That Plays – Rising Stars, a full day of free concerts spread across the historic centre, transforming Tuscania into an open-air stage. From these exceptional young musicians begins a musical journey leading to the Festival’s major symphonic, operatic and chamber music events, celebrating artistic excellence while connecting emerging talents with internationally renowned performers.
Created by the Accademia delle Arti Palazzo Giannotti and The Arts Crossroad APS, the Festival has a clear mission: to establish Tuscania as an international meeting place where artists, institutions and audiences from around the world come together. Built through passion, vision and a remarkable artistic and organisational commitment, the Festival combines musical excellence with the promotion of one of Italy’s most extraordinary historical landscapes.
The Festival welcomes prestigious orchestras including the Wuxi Symphony Orchestra from China, the Hearts of Vision Orchestra from South Korea and Italy’s Orchestra Sinfonica delle Cento Città, presenting major symphonic and operatic productions performed by artists from Europe and Asia.
One of the highlights of the season will be Puccini’s La Bohème, bringing opera for the first time to the spectacular Torre Lavello Park Amphitheatre, overlooking the medieval walls and the magnificent Basilica of San Pietro. Alongside the great Italian operatic tradition, the Festival will also present a remarkable Korean operatic production, further strengthening its commitment to cultural dialogue between East and West.
Artists from Italy, China, South Korea, Spain, France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Argentina, the Netherlands and many other countries will perform throughout the Festival. Internationally acclaimed musicians include Maurizio Baglini, Silvia Chiesa, Gabriele Pieranunzi, Paolo Taballione, Andrea Lucchi, Evangelina Mascardi, Vera Danilina, Giampaolo Bandini, Cesare Chiacchiaretta, Giammarco Casani, Gianfranco Bortolato, Olga Zdorenko, Francesco Mattioli, Leonardo De Lisi, the Andalusian Guitar Quartet, together with Chinese artists Xue Haoyin, Zhang Qianyuan, Chen Yanlin, Daye Lin, and Korean pianist Eunhye Anna Hong, among many others.
Supporting young musicians remains one of the Festival’s defining missions. It begins with The City That Plays – Rising Stars and concludes with Rising Stars – Soloists with Orchestra, an advanced training programme through which the most outstanding young performers, selected after an intensive period of study and auditions, make their orchestral debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica delle Cento Città. This long-term investment in emerging talent is one of the Festival’s strongest commitments.
Alongside its major symphonic and operatic productions, the Festival presents an extensive programme of chamber music and solo recitals featuring piano, violin, cello, flute, trumpet, clarinet, oboe, horn, guitar and lute, performed by some of today’s most distinguished musicians.
Concerts take place in Tuscania’s most enchanting venues. The Torre Lavello Park Amphitheatre hosts the major orchestral productions, while the magnificent Church of Sant’Agostino, the Garden of the Temple of Santa Croce, the Garden of the Enrico Pocci Club, Teatro Rivellino, Teatro Pocci, Palazzo Fani and Palazzo Giannotti provide unforgettable settings where music, architecture and history merge into a unique artistic experience.
The programme also includes the International Exhibition of Luthiers (28–29 August), conferences, artist talks, music-related screenings and many other cultural events. Additional afternoon concerts, matinées, free performances and live-streamed events will be announced throughout the summer.
Today, the Tuscania Summer Festival is much more than a music festival. It is an international cultural project that invests in young artists, encourages dialogue between cultures and offers audiences the opportunity to experience great music in the extraordinary setting of Tuscania.
The Festival is made possible thanks to the support of the Municipality of Tuscania, the Lazio Region, the Diocese of Viterbo, Fondazione Carivit, Circolo Enrico Pocci, ACTAS Tuscania, Tuscania d’Arte, the Ildovaldo Ridolfi Comprehensive School, and the collaboration of the Embassies of the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Germany and the Russian Federation, together with many partners, sponsors and volunteers.
The programme is continuously expanding. New concerts, free events, additional productions and cultural activities will be announced regularly on this site and through the Festival’s official Facebook and Instagram channels.
