Benevento Città Spettacolo
Six days of theatre, music, and culture in the heart of Sannio
About Città Spettacolo
Benevento Città Spettacolo: when the city becomes a stage
Benevento Città Spettacolo is the multidisciplinary festival that, for nearly half a century, has marked the end of summer in the Sannio capital, in the heart of inland Campania. It was born in 1980 from an idea by Ugo Gregoretti, its first artistic director, in collaboration with the Municipality of Benevento. Since then, the formula has remained essentially unchanged, as the true protagonist is the urban fabric itself. For six days, squares, cloisters, museums, courtyards, and monuments light up with shows, concerts, readings, meetings, and exhibitions.
Today, the event is organized by the Fondazione Benevento Città Spettacolo with the support of the Municipality and the Campania Region, and is directed by Renato Giordano, who marks his eleventh edition in 2026. The programme alternates between great authorial theatre, Neapolitan comedy, live music, dance, literature, and visual arts, with a constant focus on the dialogue between different languages and new generations of spectators.
The 47th edition: the Mediterranean as a common thread
The 47th edition takes place from August 25th to 30th, 2026, and is themed around the Mediterranean, understood as a meeting place for peoples, cultures, traditions, and artistic languages: a sea that has always been a crossroads of stories. The theme runs through over one hundred events spread across the historic centre, from Piazza Risorgimento to Piazza Cardinal Pacca, with the Hadrian-era Roman Theatre serving as the festival's symbolic stage.
The protagonists of 2026
- Vincenzo Salemme at the Roman Theatre on August 26th at 9 PM, in an evening celebrating his fifty-year career;
- Kid Yugi in Piazza Cardinal Pacca on August 27th at 10 PM with his summer tour, an event designed for a younger audience;
- the tribute to Peppino Di Capri on August 28th in Piazza Santa Sofia, hosted by Gigi Marzullo;
- Eugenio Bennato in concert on the closing night of August 30th;
- Alessandro Siani, who closes the festival on August 30th at 9 PM at the Roman Theatre with his new show «Fake News»;
- literary meetings with Michele Mari, 2026 Strega Prize winner, Maurizio de Giovanni, recipient of the 2026 Gregoretti Prize, and appearances by Serena Bortone and Lina Sastri.
The festival venues
Città Spettacolo does not have a single headquarters: it is a map that lights up every evening. Performances are distributed between the Roman Theatre, the Vittorio Emmanuele Municipal Theatre on Corso Garibaldi, the De La Salle Theatre, the Hortus Conclusus by Mimmo Paladino, the Sannio Museum, the cloister of Santa Sofia (a UNESCO World Heritage site), the Rocca dei Rettori, and the squares of Federico Torre, Santa Sofia, Cardinal Pacca, and Risorgimento. The social headquarters is the Strega Foyer, where the daily AperiFestival takes place, featuring press meetings.
Beyond the stage: side events
Alongside the main programme, the festival offers evening exhibitions, astronomical observations, street performer acts, live-recorded podcasts, the Cultural Urban Fest, and vintage car displays. It is a programme designed for strolling: you enter a theatre, step out into a square, listen to a concert, and end the evening in one of the local bars, following the traditional «festival night» formula.
Benevento and Sannio
As the capital of the province of Benevento, the city is one of the most layered historic centres in Campania: the Arch of Trajan, the Lombard church of Santa Sofia, the Roman Theatre, and the Sannio Museum recount two thousand years of history within a few hundred metres. Surrounding it is the Sannio territory, a land of important wines — Aglianico del Taburno and Falanghina del Sannio — and home to the Strega liqueur, which also lends its name to the famous literary prize. Attending Città Spettacolo therefore means combining national-level cultural programming with the discovery of an Italian province still largely untouched by mass tourism.
Why you shouldn't miss it
With forty-seven editions behind it, Città Spettacolo is the moment when Benevento shows its best side: squares full until late at night and a programme that brings together experimental theatre, popular comedy, rap, and singer-songwriter music.
Città Spettacolo — edition 2026
The theme: Mediterranean
The 47th edition of the festival, the eleventh directed by Renato Giordano, chooses the Mediterranean as its common thread: a sea understood as a meeting place for peoples, cultures, traditions, and artistic languages. The theme runs through over one hundred events located in theatres, squares, museums, cloisters, and symbolic places of Benevento, from Piazza Risorgimento to Piazza Cardinal Pacca.
A programme for diverse audiences
The 2026 programme alternates between authorial theatre and comedy, singer-songwriter music and rap, literary meetings, and exhibitions. Among the announced names: Vincenzo Salemme, who celebrates fifty years of his career at the Roman Theatre on August 26th; Kid Yugi, expected on August 27th in Piazza Cardinal Pacca; the tribute to Peppino Di Capri on August 28th hosted by Gigi Marzullo; Eugenio Bennato on the final evening; and Alessandro Siani, who closes the festival on August 30th at the Roman Theatre with his new show «Fake News». In the literary section, highlights include Michele Mari, 2026 Strega Prize winner, Maurizio de Giovanni, awarded the 2026 Gregoretti Prize, Serena Bortone, and Lina Sastri.
The project and support
The edition, approved by the Municipal Council with an executive project of approximately 310,000 euros, is produced by the Fondazione Benevento Città Spettacolo with the Municipality of Benevento and the contribution of the Cohesion Agreement of the Campania Region, in collaboration with the «Nicola Sala» Conservatory. The full programme was presented on Wednesday, July 29th, 2026, at the Strega Foyer.
Programme Città Spettacolo 2026
Tuesday, August 25th — Opening
- 12 PM, Strega Foyer: AperiFestival, press meeting and opening DJ set
- 7:30 PM, Teatro La Salle: «Tutte queste vite»
- 7:30 PM, Piazza Federico Torre: inauguration of Piazze d'Autore with Michele Mari, 2026 Strega Prize winner
- In the evening (until 11 PM): theatrical performances, book presentations, and concerts in multiple locations in the centre; guests of the first day include Maurizio de Giovanni, 2026 Gregoretti Prize winner, and Peppe Servillo with orchestra
Wednesday, August 26th
- 9 PM, Roman Theatre: Vincenzo Salemme, evening for his fifty-year career
- From 8:15 PM to 11 PM: concerts in the squares, theatrical performances, and museum exhibitions
Thursday, August 27th
- 10 PM, Piazza Cardinal Pacca: Kid Yugi, Summer Tour 2026
- 10 PM: orchestral tribute to Ennio Morricone
Friday, August 28th
- 10 PM, Piazza Santa Sofia: tribute to Peppino Di Capri, hosted by Gigi Marzullo
- From 7:30 PM to 11 PM: theatre and music in other festival venues
Saturday, August 29th
- Meetings with authors in the Piazze d'Autore section
- Theatrical performances in multiple locations
- 10 PM: concert by Selma & Band
Sunday, August 30th — Closing
- 9 PM, Roman Theatre: Alessandro Siani in «Fake News»
- 10 PM: final concert by Eugenio Bennato
Every day
- Exhibitions open from 7 PM to 11 PM
- Astronomical observations, street performer acts, Cultural Urban Fest, live podcasts, and vintage car displays
The detailed programme, with the full list of over one hundred events, is published on the official website www.cittaspettacolo.it.
Highlights Città Spettacolo 2026
- «Mediterranean» theme: six days and over one hundred events on a sea that is a crossroads of peoples and cultures
- Vincenzo Salemme at the Roman Theatre on August 26th for his fifty-year career
- Kid Yugi in Piazza Cardinal Pacca on August 27th, the major event for the younger audience
- Tribute to Peppino Di Capri on August 28th in Piazza Santa Sofia with Gigi Marzullo
- Alessandro Siani closes the festival on August 30th with «Fake News», followed by the concert of Eugenio Bennato
- Piazze d'Autore with Michele Mari (2026 Strega Prize) and Maurizio de Giovanni (2026 Gregoretti Prize)
- The Hadrian-era Roman Theatre, the UNESCO cloister of Santa Sofia, and the Hortus Conclusus of Mimmo Paladino as stages
Prices Città Spettacolo 2026
Practical information — Città Spettacolo
How to get there
By train: Benevento Centrale station, connected to Naples, Caserta, and Foggia; from the station, the historic centre can be reached on foot in about fifteen minutes. By car: the city is served by the SS7 Appia and SS88 roads, with connections to the A16 Naples-Canosa motorway. The nearest airport is Naples Capodichino, about 70 km away. During the festival, the historic centre is largely pedestrianized: it is advisable to leave your car in the peripheral parking lots.
Tickets
The main shows at the Roman Theatre require tickets. For the closing show by Alessandro Siani (August 30th), prices are 40 euros plus 6 euros in pre-sale fees for unnumbered bleacher seating, and 55 euros plus 9 euros for numbered armchairs. Sales are available at the Festival ticket office All Net Service, Via Lungocalore Manfredi di Svevia 18, Benevento (phone and WhatsApp 0824 42711), at I-Ticket points of sale, and online at i-ticket.it. For square events, meetings, and exhibitions, please check access procedures on the official website.
Where to stay
Accommodation is concentrated in the historic centre and along Viale Atlantici, with hotels, B&Bs, and guesthouses. During festival nights, availability drops rapidly: it is best to book a few weeks in advance. An alternative is to stay in the villages of the Taburno or the Telesina Valley, twenty to thirty minutes away by car.
Contacts
Fondazione Benevento Città Spettacolo — Teatro Comunale Vittorio Emmanuele, Corso Garibaldi, 82100 Benevento. Phone: +39 334 7288886. Email: [email protected]. Press office: [email protected]. Website: www.cittaspettacolo.it.
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Where does it take place — Città Spettacolo
Teatro Romano, teatri e piazze del centro storico
Corso Garibaldi, 82100 Benevento