Appennino Festival (opening stage in Amatrice)

A festival that walks along the Central Apennines

The Appennino Festival - Inclusivo di Natura is one of the most original events in Central Italy: it does not take place in a single location, but moves from village to village along the Apennine ridge, combining nature hikes with live performances. Each appointment is a guided walk that leads participants to a scenic viewpoint, where a concert, a play, or a contemporary circus act awaits them. In 2026, the event reaches its seventeenth edition and selects Amatrice, in the province of Rieti, Lazio, as the host for its opening stage.

Amatrice, the symbolic heart of the revival

It is no coincidence that the festival restarts from Amatrice. The 2026 edition coincides with the tenth anniversary of the 2016 Central Italy earthquake and adopts the slogan "A two steps from you," to tell the story of a territory that is close, accessible, and ready to be rediscovered through slow, participatory tourism. Amatrice, a town in upper Lazio on the borders with Marche, Abruzzo, and Umbria, was among the places most affected by the quake, making it the ideal starting point for a journey of memory and rebirth.

The opening stage on May 3rd

The first stage, Sunday, May 3, 2026, features a loop hike of approximately 7 kilometers toward the Eremo della Croce, with an 'E' (hiking) difficulty rating, an elevation gain of 243 meters, and a duration of about three and a half hours. At the end of the walk, the show "Rispetto Tour - le radici del futuro" will take the stage—a poetic and musical journey by Federico Quaranta with Samuele Giacomozzi and Fabia Salvucci, dedicated to memory, identity, and Italian cultural roots. For those arriving in the morning, a food and wine experience at the Polo del Gusto is highly recommended to taste the flavors of the Amatriciano territory.

Amatrice returns to the spotlight in summer

The bond with Amatrice does not end with the opening: on July 25, 2026, the town will host a second stage featuring Peppone Calabrese and the Piceno Pop Chorus, confirming the central role of the Rieti village in the festival's overall calendar.

Six months of events across four regions

From May 3 to October 31, 2026, the festival offers 31 appointments in 29 municipalities spread across Marche, Abruzzo, Lazio, and Umbria. The program alternates big names in music and entertainment—from Bandabardò to Omar Pedrini to Omar Pedrini, Nobraino, and Ginevra Di Marco—with theater companies, street artists, and local talents, all immersed in the landscapes of the Central Apennines.

An experience to be lived slowly

What makes the Appennino Festival unique is the fusion of gentle sports, nature, and culture: the landscape is not just a backdrop, but part of the show. Walking to the event location, through beech forests, meadows, and ridges, is as much a part of the experience as the final concert. It is an invitation to rediscover the villages of the Rieti hinterland and the lands of the earthquake with a different rhythm, made of silence, gentle effort, and wonder.