1st May Rosso e Montanaro

A different kind of May Day on the Pratomagno

The 1st May Rosso e Montanaro is the celebration that brings the mountain hamlets of Modine and Gorgiti to life every May Day. Located in the municipality of Loro Ciuffenna, in the province of Arezzo, on the slopes of the Pratomagno, this event is a far cry from the massive city concerts. It is an intimate, widespread gathering centered around the Circolo ARCI Pratomagno, dedicated to the idea of a Labor Day built on music, shared words, and a sense of community.

The Materiali Sonori network

The initiative was born from the Materiali Sonori cooperative, a historic record label and cultural entity based in San Giovanni Valdarno, and is coordinated by Arlo Bigazzi. Musicians, singer-songwriters, poets, and storytellers—bound by years of friendship and collaboration—take turns on stage. It is a "long sequence of performances" that blends original tracks, musical tributes, and moments of poetic reflection from the afternoon until dusk.

Between music, memory, and nature

The day combines a concert experience with a hiking excursion: the festival is preceded by a morning walk through the Pratomagno woods, allowing participants to reach the club on foot and rediscover a mountain landscape that is often overlooked. The common thread remains the memory of the working class and popular culture, evoked by the very name, "Rosso e Montanaro" (Red and Mountain-dweller).

A preview of OrienteOccidente

The event serves as a pre-festival (pre-OrienteOccidente) for the OrienteOccidente festival, another creation of the Materiali Sonori network, anticipating its spirit of encounter between different languages and cultures. While remaining a niche event with a few hundred attendees, "Rosso e Montanaro" has established itself as one of the most original May Day celebrations in the Arezzo Valdarno and inland Tuscany.

A community event

The festival is reserved for ARCI members with a solidarity-based formula and features a food truck service for lunch and snacks throughout the day. It is the perfect opportunity to experience May Day in an alternative way, immersed in the landscape of the Pratomagno and the welcoming atmosphere of a small mountain village in the province of Arezzo.