Antonio Vivaldi Festival, Italy 2026

• 27 septembre 2026
  Date de l'événement :
• 31 octobre 2026
  Fin de l'événement :

À quoi s’attendre en 2026

The Antonio Vivaldi Festival returns for its ninth edition from 27 September to 31 October 2026, bringing a month of classical and historical music to Cosenza, Castrovillari and San Giovanni in Fiore in Calabria. The 2026 edition presents 17 scheduled appointments in castles, museums, palaces, churches, a cathedral and a theatre, making the locations an important part of the festival experience.

The artistic direction for the ninth edition is entrusted to composer, musician and teacher Luigi Maletta. The programme moves across musical history from the Renaissance and Baroque to contemporary research and new composition, with both a world premiere and a national premiere included in the programme.

Although Antonio Vivaldi remains central to the festival’s identity, the programme is considerably broader than Vivaldi’s own works. Visitors can hear Renaissance polyphony, Baroque repertoire, Classical-era compositions, Romantic music, traditional-inspired programmes, organ music, chamber music, vocal works and contemporary creations.

The festival is organised by Cosenza Autentica APS and supported through the Italian Ministry of Culture’s 2026 programme. Its stated focus is on connecting music, cultural heritage, local communities and historic places throughout Calabria.

Dates des événements

Antonio Vivaldi Festival 2026 runs from 27 September 2026 to 31 October 2026.

The official programme lists 17 appointments across three principal towns:

• San Giovanni in Fiore: 27 September, 9 October, 16 October, 23 October and 30 October
• Castrovillari: 3 October, 10 October, 17 October, 24 October and 31 October
• Cosenza: 4 October, 11 October, 15 October, 18 October and 25 October

The festival therefore follows a distributed calendar rather than operating as a single continuous concert programme at one location.

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Lieu et site du festival

Antonio Vivaldi Festival does not use one permanent festival site. The ninth edition is spread across three Calabrian towns and uses historic and cultural venues as concert spaces.

Museo Demologico – San Giovanni in Fiore

The Museo Demologico provides the setting for five events, including the opening performance and several chamber and interdisciplinary programmes. The museum’s Sala Saverio Marra has previously been used to present emerging musicians and smaller ensembles.

Castello Aragonese – Castrovillari

The historic Castello Aragonese hosts five festival appointments, including chamber music, flute ensemble repertoire and vocal programmes.

Palazzo della Provincia – Cosenza

The Palazzo della Provincia hosts several performances, with the Sala degli Specchi used for vocal, chamber and orchestral programmes.

Cattedrale di Cosenza

The cathedral provides the setting for an organ recital featuring Mario Gaudio and works by Bach, Frescobaldi and Buxtehude.

Sybaris – Castrovillari

The Teatro Sybaris hosts the closing event, featuring the contemporary music collective MICA and the national premiere of Ars Variandi 2.0.

Programmation complète

The confirmed 2026 programme features a broad group of soloists, chamber musicians, vocalists, conductors and ensembles, including:

• Luigi Maletta
• Mario Gaudio
• Daniel Cundari
• Daniele Palma
• Daria Mishurina
• Teresa Musacchio
• Diego Smiraglio
• Donato Parente
• Alessandra Ciniglia
• Camilla Vaccaro
• Claudia Vaccaro
• Clara Caputo
• Gaia Cesario
• Maria Luisa Pagnotta
• Stefania Binetti
• Maria Cristina Chiarelli
• Antonio Rubino
• Daniele Croce
• Federica Greco
• Giulia Altomare
• Giuseppe Marcadoro
• Luca Santo Sposato
• Maria Chiara Maiolino
• Sara Guglielmelli
• Orchestra Giovanile Polimnia
• Ars Cantu Mensurabilis
• Thelema Flute Quartet
• MICA – Musicanti In Cerca di Autore

The programme also includes additional instrumentalists and performers appearing in individual productions.

Têtes d’affiche et artistes invités

Ars Cantu Mensurabilis

The nine-member vocal ensemble appears in a programme combining Renaissance and early vocal repertoire with works by Alessandro Scialla, Claudio Monteverdi, Jacques Arcadelt, Thomas Tallis and Jhan Gero. The ensemble specialises in historically informed and contemporary approaches to choral music.

Thelema Flute Quartet

The quartet brings together Clara Caputo, Claudia Vaccaro, Gaia Cesario and Maria Luisa Pagnotta. Its programme ranges from Jacques Castérède and Georg Abraham Schneider to Smetana, Grieg and other repertoire arranged for four flutes.

Daria Mishurina, Teresa Musacchio and Giovanni Marsico

Their Cosenza programme focuses strongly on vocal Baroque repertoire, including works by Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, Astorga, Vivaldi, Pergolesi and Handel. The programme includes several arias and sacred works associated with the Italian and European Baroque tradition.

Mario Gaudio

The young organist performs at Cattedrale di Cosenza in a programme centred on Bach, Frescobaldi and Buxtehude, alongside an organ improvisation. His programme connects the festival with the historic organ tradition of European sacred music.

Orchestra Giovanile Polimnia

The youth orchestra performs Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons together with Francesco Geminiani’s La Follia. Mattia Salemme serves as conductor and concertmaster.

MICA – Musicanti In Cerca di Autore

MICA closes the festival at Teatro Sybaris with a contemporary programme that includes the national premiere of Daniele Croce’s Ars Variandi 2.0. The production brings together instrumentalists, composer Daniele Croce and conductor Leonardo Vulcano.

Scènes et zones de spectacle

Museo Demologico, San Giovanni in Fiore

This venue hosts five performances and represents one of the festival’s main chamber-music locations. Its programme includes guitar, poetry and saxophone, mixed chamber ensembles and Celtic harp.

Castello Aragonese, Castrovillari

The castle provides a historic setting for five concerts, ranging from flute quartet repertoire to early music and vocal programmes.

Palazzo della Provincia, Cosenza

The provincial palace provides several indoor performance settings, including programmes dedicated to Baroque vocal music, chamber repertoire and orchestral performance.

Cattedrale di Cosenza

The cathedral setting is reserved for an organ recital, giving the programme a strong connection with sacred musical heritage.

Teatro Sybaris, Castrovillari

The theatre hosts the closing contemporary programme and national premiere, providing a different atmosphere from the festival’s historic and sacred venues.

Programme étape par étape

Museo Demologico – San Giovanni in Fiore

• 27 September: Opening concert of the ninth edition.
• 9 October: Diego Smiraglio and Donato Parente, classical guitars, with repertoire from Gabrieli, Galilei, Carulli, Coste and Brouwer.
• 16 October: Laudes Creaturarum, a world premiere melologue with poet-performer Daniel Cundari and saxophonist Daniele Palma.
• 23 October: Chamber programme for cello, clarinet and flute featuring Quantz, Haydn, Bach, Telemann, Karl Andersen and Luca Sposato.
• 30 October: Maria Cristina Chiarelli and Stefania Binetti perform a programme for Celtic harp drawing on Scottish, Irish, English and French traditions.

Castello Aragonese – Castrovillari

• 3 October: First Castrovillari programme of the 2026 edition.
• 10 October: Thelema Flute Quartet, with works by Castérède, Schneider, Dubois, Bozza, Smetana, Grieg, Köhler and Berthomieu.
• 17 October: Chamber programme featuring Quantz, Haydn, Bach, Telemann, Karl Andersen and Luca Sposato.
• 24 October: Vocal programme featuring Ars Cantu Mensurabilis and repertoire by Scialla, Monteverdi, Arcadelt, Tallis and Gero.
• 31 October: Closing programme at Teatro Sybaris rather than the castle, featuring MICA and Ars Variandi 2.0.

Palazzo della Provincia – Cosenza

• 4 October: First Cosenza programme of the ninth edition.
• 11 October: Vocal Baroque programme featuring Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Frescobaldi, Pergolesi and Handel.
• 18 October: Historic-music programme centred on six sonatas by M. Lavallière for tambourin and violin, with baroque guitar.
• 25 October: Orchestra Giovanile Polimnia performs Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and Geminiani’s La Follia.

Cattedrale di Cosenza

• 15 October: Mario Gaudio performs organ works by Bach, Frescobaldi and Buxtehude, followed by an improvisation on the Kyrie of Missa Orbis factor.

Temps de set

The official 2026 programme confirms that the festival uses individual concert start times rather than a continuous daily festival schedule.

Several of the detailed programme pages for the ninth edition identify individual appointments by venue and date, while the festival’s established format generally places performances in the late afternoon or evening.

Visitors should check the individual programme page for their chosen concert before travelling, particularly because the festival moves between three towns and multiple types of venue.

Types de billets

The 2026 festival does not publish one universal ticket price covering all 17 appointments. Ticket arrangements are handled according to the individual performance and venue.

Based on the previous edition, the festival has used a mixture of free-admission events and low-cost individual tickets. In the 2025 edition, one Morano Calabro performance was priced at approximately $6, while another San Giovanni in Fiore performance was free.

For the 2026 edition, visitors should therefore check the individual event information before attending because admission conditions can vary between concerts.

Options VIP et premium

The Antonio Vivaldi Festival does not advertise a dedicated VIP pass, premium hospitality package or backstage ticket for the 2026 edition.

The festival is structured primarily around individual concerts in cultural and historic venues rather than a commercial multi-stage festival environment. The experience is centred on the music, the performers and the architectural setting of each location.

Where a performance is ticketed, seating or admission arrangements are determined by the individual venue and event.

Règles de l’épreuve

Admission

Visitors should check whether their selected concert requires a ticket, reservation or free-admission registration before travelling.

Arrival

Arriving early is advisable because several venues are historic buildings with relatively limited audience capacity.

Seating

Where seating is provided, visitors should follow the instructions of venue staff and use the place assigned or designated for the event.

Mobile phones

Mobile phones should be switched to silent mode during performances.

Photography and recording

Photography, video and audio recording should only be carried out when permitted by the organisers and the individual venue.

Venue requirements

Because concerts take place in castles, museums, churches, palaces and theatres, specific access and visitor rules can vary from one event to another.

Comment y arriver

The festival takes place across the province of Cosenza, so travel planning depends on the individual concert.

From Cosenza

Cosenza is the principal urban base for the festival and is well connected to other parts of Calabria by road and rail. It is also a useful accommodation base for visitors planning to attend several events.

To Castrovillari

Castrovillari lies north of Cosenza and is accessible by road via the A2 motorway network and connecting roads. Visitors attending the Castello Aragonese or Teatro Sybaris should allow additional travel time from Cosenza.

To San Giovanni in Fiore

San Giovanni in Fiore is located in the Sila mountains and is best approached by road. Its mountain setting makes it particularly suitable for visitors combining a festival concert with a stay in the Sila area.

Par avion

For international visitors, Lamezia Terme International Airport is one of the principal airport gateways to Calabria. From the airport, visitors can continue by rail, bus or rental car depending on the festival venue.

Transports en commun et stationnement

Public transport options vary substantially between the three festival towns.

Cosenza has the most extensive urban transport network and is the easiest base for visitors relying on buses and trains.

Castrovillari and San Giovanni in Fiore are smaller towns, where local public transport is more limited and a rental car can provide greater flexibility when attending multiple festival locations.

Parking

Parking conditions vary by venue. Historic centres around castles, palaces and cathedrals can have restricted vehicle access, so visitors should plan to park outside pedestrianised areas and continue on foot where necessary.

For evening concerts, arriving early is recommended because parking near historic venues can become limited.

Zones d’hébergement

Cosenza

Cosenza is the most practical base for visitors wanting access to several festival events while also having a larger selection of hotels, restaurants and services.

Castrovillari

Staying in Castrovillari is useful for visitors attending several events at Castello Aragonese and Teatro Sybaris. The town also provides convenient access to the Pollino area.

San Giovanni in Fiore

This is a good choice for visitors combining the festival with the Sila mountains and surrounding natural attractions.

Sila area

Visitors planning a longer Calabria trip can consider accommodation around the wider Sila National Park area, particularly when attending multiple San Giovanni in Fiore concerts.

Nourriture et boissons

The Antonio Vivaldi Festival does not operate a dedicated festival food village. Instead, visitors experience the local food culture of Cosenza, Castrovillari and San Giovanni in Fiore around the individual concert venues.

Cosenza provides the broadest choice of restaurants, cafés, bakeries and bars, while Castrovillari and San Giovanni in Fiore offer smaller local dining scenes.

Because many performances take place in historic centres, visitors can combine an afternoon or evening concert with dinner in the surrounding town.

San Giovanni in Fiore is particularly interesting for visitors who want to combine classical music with the culinary traditions of Calabria and the mountain communities of the Sila area.

Accessibilité

Accessibility varies according to the historic venue being used.

Museums, castles, churches, palaces and theatres can have different entrances, stairs, seating arrangements and accessible facilities. Visitors with mobility requirements should contact the organisers before attending to confirm access conditions for the specific performance.

The festival’s use of heritage buildings means that accessibility should not be assumed to be identical across all 17 events.

Festival organiser

Cosenza Autentica APS is responsible for the festival, with the official website providing programme and organisational information.

Meilleurs jours à assister

27 September

The opening appointment begins the ninth edition and provides the best opportunity to experience the start of the 2026 programme at Museo Demologico in San Giovanni in Fiore.

11 October

The Cosenza programme presents a strong concentration of Baroque vocal repertoire, including works by Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Pergolesi and Handel.

15 October

The Cattedrale di Cosenza hosts Mario Gaudio in an organ programme featuring Bach, Frescobaldi and Buxtehude.

25 October

Orchestra Giovanile Polimnia performs Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons together with Geminiani’s La Follia, offering one of the clearest direct connections with the festival’s namesake composer.

31 October

The festival closes at Teatro Sybaris in Castrovillari with MICA and the national premiere of Daniele Croce’s Ars Variandi 2.0, giving the ninth edition a contemporary finale.

Faits marquants de l’année précédente

The eighth edition expanded the festival’s established network across San Giovanni in Fiore, Morano Calabro, Castrovillari, Rossano and Cosenza. Its programme combined established performers, young musicians and chamber ensembles.

Among the 2025 highlights were Maurizio Mastrini’s Ghost International Tour, the recital Sulla rotta del Burian with Margherita Capalbo and Ivan Nardelli, and Andreas Xenopoulos at Castello Aragonese in Castrovillari.

The 2025 edition also continued the festival’s practice of keeping some events accessible through free admission. One San Giovanni in Fiore performance was offered free of charge, while a Morano Calabro concert used a low-cost single ticket.

The 2026 ninth edition develops this model further by concentrating the programme in Cosenza, Castrovillari and San Giovanni in Fiore and adding a world premiere and a national premiere.

Billets officiels

The official Festival Antonio Vivaldi website is the primary source for the 2026 programme, individual concert information and admission updates.

Site officiel : https://www.festivalantoniovivaldi.it/

The organiser is Cosenza Autentica APS, which is responsible for the ninth edition and its programme across Cosenza, Castrovillari and San Giovanni in Fiore.

Visitors should consult the individual event information before travelling because the festival does not use one standard admission system for all 17 appointments.

Localisation

FAQ