The press conference was held today to present the 51st edition of the Pergine Festival, which will return to Pergine Valsugana from June 27 to July 11, 2026. After celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2025, the Festival inaugurates a new cycle titled “Human Geographies,” confirming its leading role in the Italian contemporary art scene.
Leading the artistic project for the fourth consecutive year are Babilonia Teatri, with Valeria Raimondi and Enrico Castellani, who have chosen a kite suspended in the clouds as the symbolic image of this edition: a metaphor for fragility and resistance, but also for creative impetus and the ability to navigate the uncertainties of the present.
“When the sky darkens, art doesn’t retreat: it rises,” declare Castellani and Raimondi, underlining the desire for a festival that doesn’t shy away from complexity, but inhabits it, transforming it into an opportunity for encounter and vision.
A widespread festival, between art and community
The theme “Human Geographies” runs throughout the program, placing the relationship between bodies, spaces, and communities at its core. Theater transcends conventional venues and spreads throughout the city: squares, parks, public buildings, and abandoned spaces become settings for an artistic offering that intertwines with everyday life.
Over 40 events are scheduled, including shows, concerts, urban performances, workshops, and meetings, spread across 15 city venues. These include the Teatro Comunale, Castel Pergine, Piazza Fruet, Arte Sella, Forte delle Benne, and many other iconic locations in the area.
The Festival thus strengthens its identity as a plural, hybrid, and intergenerational project, capable of engaging diverse audiences and transforming the city into a truly moving cultural map.
Guests and program
Among the protagonists of the 2026 edition are some of the most significant voices on the Italian and international scene: Sabina Guzzanti, Banda Osiris, Roberto Latini, Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti, Silvia Gribaudi, Rimini Protokoll, Tony Clifton Circus, Cirque Inextremiste, along with numerous emerging companies.
Ample space will also be dedicated to new generations and contemporary research, with debuts, national premieres, and special projects.
ABBASSA!, the evening music festival in Piazza Fruet, is also back, with 16 concerts dedicated to the independent scene.
Accessibility, sustainability and territory
Great attention is paid to accessibility, with the No Limits project, which offers shows accessible to people with sensory disabilities, and with new initiatives like Mosaic Words, moments accompanying viewing of the shows.
The Festival also continues its commitment to sustainability, confirming its recognition as a Trentino ECO-Event.
Supported by local and national institutions, including the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Trentino-Alto Adige Region, and the Ministry of Culture, as well as the Caritro Foundation and Cassa Rurale Alta Valsugana, Pergine Festival is strengthening its partnerships with local organizations and establishing new synergies, such as with Trentino 2060 for a collaborative event on June 24th at the Teatro Comunale, featuring architect Mario Cucinella.
During the press conference, Provincial Councilor Francesca Gerosa emphasized how this year’s theme represents “a permeable and widespread culture, capable of transforming public spaces into an inclusive laboratory of relationships.”
Mayor Marco Morelli reiterated the Festival’s value as “the beating heart of the city’s cultural offering,” while President Flavio Pallaoro highlighted the event’s ability to “connect people, places, and different generations.”
Tickets
Tickets are officially available online by accessing the portal liveticket.it/perginefestival.
With this new edition, the Pergine Festival confirms its mission: to be not just a showcase of performances, but a vibrant space for encounter, participation, and transformation, capable of interpreting the present and imagining new possibilities for the future.
Photo by Elisa Vettori
