Bellini Festival – Bellini Marathon

A full day for the Catanese Swan

The Bellini Marathon is the highlight of the Bellini Festival, the major event that the Fondazione Festival Belliniano dedicates to Vincenzo Bellini, the composer born in Catania on November 3, 1801. Every year on this date, the city celebrates its most illustrious musician with a marathon of events that spans from morning to evening across the iconic landmarks of the historic center of Catania, in Sicily.

The day's program

From 10:00 AM until late in the evening, the Bellini Marathon offers an uninterrupted journey of talks, exhibitions, film screenings, and concerts dedicated to Bellini's life and music. Conversations with scholars and critics explore the relationship between the composer and the arts, from opera to cinema, while screenings and exhibitions recount the legacy of his immortal works, from Norma to La sonnambula, and from I Puritani to I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

Catania venues

The marathon takes place in some of the most evocative locations in the city:

• Badia di Sant'Agata, a jewel of Catanese Baroque overlooking the Via dei Crociferi;
• Palazzo Biscari, the most sumptuous historic noble residence in the city;
• Cathedral of Sant'Agata (Duomo di Catania), which houses the tomb of Vincenzo Bellini.

The Extraordinary Concert at the Cathedral

The most anticipated moment is the Extraordinary Concert for the anniversary of Vincenzo Bellini's birth, held in the evening around 8:00 PM at the Cathedral of Sant'Agata, with free admission. Before the composer's tomb, the most beloved pieces of the Bellinian repertoire resonate in a setting that combines civic devotion with high artistic quality.

A festival between Catania and Taormina

The Bellini Marathon concludes the Bellini Festival, founded in 2009 by director and set designer Enrico Castiglione, the event's artistic director. The festival takes place every year between Catania and Taormina with symphonic-vocal galas, concerts, and opera productions, establishing itself as one of the main events dedicated to Bellini's opera in Sicily. The day of November 3rd represents the city's collective tribute to its most famous son.