Arte al Borgo - A Village for Art

Arte al Borgo, when a village becomes a stage

Arte al Borgo - A Village for Art is the cultural festival that brings Alberi to life, a small hillside hamlet in the Municipality of Meta, in the province of Naples, in the heart of the Sorrento Peninsula (Campania). For a few evenings a year, the narrow streets, the small square, the parish church, and the private spaces of the village transform into open-air concert halls and exhibition venues: classical and chamber music provide the common thread, while painting and artistic craftsmanship complete the experience.

Who organizes it and with what spirit

The festival was born from the initiative of the Santa Maria delle Grazie Parish of Alberi, supported by the Albori association, with the patronage of the Municipality of Meta. It is a community project rather than a commercial program: events are free to attend, subject to availability, and the involvement of residents—who open up their courtyards, gardens, and common spaces—is an integral part of the formula. The goal stated by the organizers is to offer high-quality musical evenings in an intimate setting, where the audience sits just a few meters from the performers.

The festival venues

• The square of Alberi: the venue for open-air concerts, overlooking the greenery of the hills that slope down toward the gulf.
• Villa Mastellone: a historic village residence that has hosted the summer season closing evening in recent years.
• Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie: the devotional heart of the hamlet, used primarily for autumn events and for sacred and chamber music programs.

Programming of recent editions

In the 2024 edition, the square hosted the Between Sky and Sea recital, featuring contralto Candida Guida and pianist Annalisa Pepe, an evening dedicated to the memory of maestro Laura Abet; in parallel, works by painter Raffaele Starace and creations by master goldsmiths from the Le Muse workshop in Piano di Sorrento were on display.

The 2025 edition closed the summer season on September 1st at Villa Mastellone, with pianist Riccardo Caruso and dancer Chiara Starace: a program that traversed Chopin, Satie, Tchaikovsky, Amy Beach, and Gershwin, with the piano in dialogue with the dancer's body. The calendar continued in the autumn: on November 28th, in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, La Petite Naples - Mandolin Connections between Naples and Marseille was performed by the Nov Mandolin Ensemble and the Melis Mandolin Sextet, a concert that recounted the ties between the two Mediterranean cities and paid tribute to the Neapolitan emigrants who were victims of the 1943 Nazi roundup in Marseille.

What atmosphere to expect

Those who climb up to Alberi will not find a large festival, but a village evening with attention to detail: chairs arranged on the pavement, discreet lighting, the silence that precedes the first chord, and, immediately after, the applause of an audience that largely lives just a few steps away. The small scale is the true strength of the festival, as it allows for formats difficult to achieve elsewhere, such as a piano recital accompanied by dance or a mandolin ensemble under the vaults of the church. Summer evenings are held outdoors and may be moved indoors in case of bad weather.

Alberi, Meta, and the Sorrento Peninsula

Meta is the first municipality of the Sorrento Peninsula encountered when arriving from Castellammare di Stabia: a town of sailors and shipyards, famous for the Alimuri beach and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Lauro. Alberi, on the other hand, is located in the upper part of the municipal territory, amidst the citrus and olive groves that characterize the Sorrento hills, far from the traffic of the coast. Attending an Arte al Borgo concert also means discovering this part of Campania less traveled by mass tourism, just a few kilometers from Sorrento, Piano di Sorrento, and Vico Equense.

Information and updates

The program is released from time to time through the parish, the Municipality of Meta, the local press of the Sorrento Peninsula, and the Arte al Borgo. Alberi Facebook page. As these are free-admission events with limited seating, it is advisable to arrive well before the start time.