Barocco Festival Leonardo Leo - Brindisi Stage

The Barocco Festival Leonardo Leo in Brindisi

The Barocco Festival Leonardo Leo is one of the longest-running early music festivals in Southern Italy. Founded in 1997 by the City of San Vito dei Normanni, the festival is dedicated to the memory of Leonardo Leo (1694-1744), a composer from San Vito and one of the leading figures of the 18th-century Neapolitan musical school. The event is itinerant, visiting the most evocative locations in the province of Brindisi and Salento every summer: castles, cloisters, churches, and historic palaces become the backdrop for concerts performed on period instruments by specialized orchestras and ensembles.

The Brindisi Stage

Within the festival programme, Brindisi hosts one of the most anticipated stages. In this Adriatic city, concerts are held in venues of great historical and architectural value, such as the 17th-century Palazzo Montenegro, a historic residence overlooking the harbour, or the churches and palaces of the old town. The Brindisi stage thus combines the experience of great Baroque music with the discovery of the city's monumental heritage, in a dialogue between the "places of history" and the "places of music" that serves as the common thread of the entire festival.

Leonardo Leo and the Neapolitan School

The festival was created to preserve and promote the work of Leonardo Leo, author of sacred works, oratorios, cantatas, and comic operas that influenced the entire European musical landscape. The programme weaves his name together with the works of his great contemporaries: Antonio Vivaldi, Georg Friedrich Handel, Benedetto Marcello, Alessandro Scarlatti, and the masters of Baroque Naples. The artistic direction is entrusted to Maestro Cosimo Prontera, leader of the Baroque orchestra La Confraternita de' Musici, the festival's resident ensemble.

A Festival for Puglia

• Travelling festival across San Vito dei Normanni, Brindisi, Mesagne, and Lecce
• Concerts on original instruments with historically informed performance practice
• Exceptional venues: castles, cloisters, cathedrals, and Baroque palaces
• Internationally acclaimed soloists and ensembles
• Affordable ticket prices to bring early music to a wider audience

Promoted by the City of San Vito dei Normanni in collaboration with the Municipality of Brindisi, and supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Puglia Region, the Barocco Festival Leonardo Leo represents a vital cultural pillar for the entire province of Brindisi, successfully combining local development, cultural tourism, and high-quality music.