Arts Festival

Festival delle Arti | © Archivio Festival delle Arti

From Friday, June 26th to Sunday, June 28th, the Festival delle Arti (Festival of the Arts) returns to Cervia. This three-day event dedicated to visual arts takes place in the charming setting of Piazzale dei Salinari, overlooking the Porto Canale. The theme of this 24th edition is The Face of the Artist.

The Festival brings together over 50 artists – including painters, sculptors, ceramicists, and mosaicists – who work live, allowing the public to closely observe their techniques and creative processes. The event's formula is simple and engaging: artists create their works on-site, transforming the area into a massive open-air workshop.

The 25th edition of the festival focuses on the theme "Collodi-Pinocchio / Fairy Tale - Temptations - Afterthoughts", inviting artists to reinterpret Collodi's masterpiece to analyze human identity in the contemporary world. The challenge for participants is to translate a profound and current reflection into artwork: understanding whether individuals are still capable of developing their own potential or if they have been flattened by technology. Over the three days of the event, art will tell the story of how "being Pinocchio" means knowing how to face and overcome the obstacles we build on our own path, and discovering how willing we still are to listen to our conscience to evolve.

The event has always valued passing down craftsmanship and art to children through creative workshops:

• The Art of Mosaic: curated by Paola Maltoni and Loretta Fariselli, to learn the historic mosaic technique of the Ravenna tradition;

• Painting Ourselves Among Puppets: an immersive workshop curated by the Ossigeno Rosso collective, inspired by the slogan “I am Mister Geppetto and with my hands I give life to Pinocchio,” which will guide the exploration of various artistic techniques, from painting to collage.

Each evening of the festival will be enhanced by a major cultural and entertainment event:

• Friday, June 26th - Pinocchio and the Desire for Happiness
  A suggestive transdisciplinary journey from Prometheus to the biplane, passing through Byron, Jekyll, Pinocchio, Dracula, Romanticism, and Freud, discovering how imagination has changed the last two centuries. The show will feature projected images and recited passages, with the narration of Teresio Troll, the acting voice of Loredana Scianna (Teatro del Cerchio, Parma), and the musical background of Toni Salvatori.
  
  
• Saturday, June 27th - Mud Walkers Blues Trio in Concert
  A concert centered on the overwhelming Chicago Blues of the '50s and '60s with Cris Dis (vocals), Ant. Jacopo Argento (electric guitar), and Marcoh Van Harp (harmonica). The trio will perform famous tracks by genre legends such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Little Walter.
  
  
• Sunday, June 28th - Etilisti Noti in Concert
  Closing the event is the acoustic-folk trio from Forlì (Annalisa Licata on vocals, Filippo Barucci on acoustic guitar, and Arlo Zenzani on violin, classical guitar, and backing vocals). Active since 2012, the band offers original acoustic renditions bridging great Italian songwriting (De André, Guccini, De Gregori, Modena City Ramblers) with Johnny Cash and lively traditional Irish music.

An opportunity to experience art directly, in an open context accessible to everyone.

The festival is realized with the contribution of: Municipality of Cervia, Club del Sole, Consar, Nadep.

In case of bad weather, the event will be rescheduled.