Accademia Festival

A high-altitude music campus near Rome

The Accademia Festival is an event dedicated to advanced musical training, held every summer in Saracinesco, a tiny village of Saracen origin perched at an altitude of over 900 metres in the Monti Ruffi, in the heart of the Aniene Valley. Organised by the Municipality of Saracinesco in collaboration with the Accademia Musicale Romana, the festival turns the village into a true citadel of music for ten days: lessons intertwine with concerts, students live alongside their masters, and the public can witness the training process of young musicians up close.

A story that began in 2011

The partnership between the Accademia Musicale Romana—an association founded in Rome in 1997 to promote musical culture and the training of new generations—and the Municipality of Saracinesco began in the autumn of 2011. Since then, the festival has grown edition after edition, offering numerous advanced masterclasses and over twenty concert events over the years. In 2026, the festival celebrated its sixteenth edition, confirming its status as one of the longest-running summer musical training events in the Lazio region.

Advanced masterclasses

The heart of the festival lies in its international advanced courses, aimed at young musicians who wish to refine their skills with prestigious teachers. The classes cover a wide range of disciplines:

• Piano, with multiple parallel courses throughout the festival
• Violin and ensemble music for strings
• Guitar
• Flute and choir
• Oboe and wind instruments
• Chamber music (duo, trio, and quartet)

At the end of the courses, all participants receive a certificate, presented exclusively during the closing concert: a ritual that highlights the bond between study and live performance.

Concerts and the final performance

The days of study are complemented by the festival's concerts, which enliven the village in the evening hours. The most deserving students have the opportunity to perform during the festival alongside their teachers, while the final concert—the most anticipated moment of the event—brings together masters, students, and the public for a closing celebration with the presentation of certificates.

Saracinesco and the Aniene Valley

The festival is also an opportunity to discover one of the most unique villages in the Lazio region: Saracinesco, one of the smallest and highest municipalities in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, owes its name to a 9th-century Saracen settlement and overlooks the Aniene Valley from above. The landscape of the Aniene Valley, with its forests and panoramas stretching as far as the Roman countryside, offers musicians a quiet and inspiring environment for study, just 50 kilometres from the centre of Rome. For the public, a concert evening thus becomes a getaway trip amidst nature, history, and great music.