Bassa Centrico Festival

A Spread-Out Festival Between the Po River and the Gonzaga Lands

The Bassa Centrico Festival was born in 2026 as a large spread-out review designed to unite and showcase the eight municipalities of the Unione Bassa Reggiana — Luzzara, Guastalla, Gualtieri, Boretto, Brescello, Poviglio, Novellara, and Reggiolo — on a single open-air stage. Promoted by local administrations together with the IAT Bassa Reggiana, the festival enhances the so-called Lands of the Po River and the Gonzaga through guided tours, exhibitions, river navigation, theater, excursions, and food and wine events.

Novellara and the Gonzaga Legacy

In the Municipality of Novellara, in the province of Reggio Emilia, the festival's stop is dedicated to the legacy of the family that ruled this corner of the plain for centuries: the Gonzaga of Novellara. The heart of the town is the imposing Rocca Gonzaghesca, in Piazzale Marconi, which today houses the Gonzaga Museum with the famous fresco cycle by Lelio Orsi. During the review, the Rocca opens its noble floor rooms with guided tours, in the morning and afternoon.

The Casino di Sopra, Gonzaga Summer Residence

The highlight of the Novellara day is the inauguration of the Casino di Sopra, the ancient Gonzaga summer residence built around 1542 and now returned to the community as a museum of rural culture. The opening, scheduled for 10:30 AM, recounts courtly life and peasant life in the Bassa, in a building that links noble history with work in the fields and surrounding valleys.

Nature in the Bassa Valleys

The festival in Novellara is not just about history and art: the CAI section of Novellara offers a guided excursion in the Bassa Valleys along the CAI 608 trail "don Candido Bizzarri", in collaboration with the neighboring municipality of Reggiolo. A walk through the flora and fauna of the reclaimed wetlands, meeting at Ponte del Pastore, to discover a landscape of water and reeds often overlooked by mass tourism.

Sip & Sound at Parco Augusto Daolio

In the evening, the atmosphere changes with Sip & Sound at Parco Augusto Daolio — the green space named after the historic singer of I Nomadi, an adopted resident of Novellara. From 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM, the park comes alive with live music, skateboarding, parkour, games, and quality street food, in an event designed primarily for young people and families.

Who is it for

This event is suitable for families, history and art enthusiasts, walkers and nature lovers, and anyone who wants to discover an authentic corner of Emilia-Romagna away from the beaten path. Several experiences require booking: a way to experience the territory at the right pace, the slow rhythms of the great river and its valleys.