Blue Monk Festival
Jazz, classical, and world music between the lakes of Piedmont
About Blue Monk Festival
A traveling festival among the Piedmontese lakes
The Blue Monk Festival is one of the most beloved music series in Upper Piedmont, transforming the summer in the Novara area into a long journey of concerts blending nature, art, and culture. Born from the inspiration of the Blue Monk Cultural Association, the festival travels through the villages overlooking Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta, choosing ancient churches, historic villas, parks, and scenic squares as its stage. Its home base is Villa Marazza in Borgomanero, in the Province of Novara, but each edition visits various locations across the region.
High-level music and cross-genre influences
The heart of the Blue Monk Festival is a journey through jazz, classical, and world music repertoires, with forays into singer-songwriter music and contemporary sounds. Alongside the concerts, the festival offers workshops, educational activities, book presentations, art exhibitions, live painting performances, and dance, in a constant dialogue between different artistic languages. The organizers—the Blue Monk Cultural Association together with the Jazz Club Borgomanero and the Four Music School—build a lineup every year that combines established names from the Italian scene with young talents.
The festival villages
The traveling format is the true hallmark of the series: in recent editions, concerts have been held in Borgomanero, Orta San Giulio, Ameno, Gozzano, Borgo Ticino, Omegna, Pella, and Maggiora, highlighting places with strong local identity each time: the church of San Maiolo in Agrano di Omegna, the Neogothic Park of Ameno, the famous Piazza Motta overlooking the Island of San Giulio in Orta, and historic local wineries.
Culture, solidarity, and territory
The Blue Monk Festival is not just about music: several evenings have a charitable focus, supporting local causes and solidarity projects, while the September events often combine concerts with tastings of wines from local producers. Most events are free to attend with a voluntary donation, a choice that makes the series accessible and deeply connected to the community of the Novara and Cusio areas.
Blue Monk Festival — edition 2026
The 2026 edition of the Blue Monk Festival has been announced by the Marazza Foundation of Borgomanero (NO), confirming the continuation of the historic traveling series between Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta.
The detailed program — including dates for individual concerts, artists, and venues in the various municipalities of the Novara and Cusio areas — will be published by the organizers in the weeks leading up to the start of the series, through official posters and the channels of the Blue Monk Cultural Association and the Marazza Foundation.
As in previous editions, one can expect a lineup of free-admission concerts with voluntary donations, dedicated to jazz, classical repertoires, and world music, enriched by live painting, book presentations, and charity evenings.
Programme Blue Monk Festival 2026
The detailed program for the 2026 edition — precise dates, artists, times, and venues in the municipalities between Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta — has not yet been published in full at the time of writing. The Marazza Foundation has announced the 2026 edition and will distribute official posters in the weeks leading up to the festival.
Based on recent editions, the festival consists of about ten concerts spread throughout the summer, with free admission and voluntary donations, in evocative venues such as Villa Marazza in Borgomanero, Piazza Motta in Orta San Giulio, the Neogothic Park of Ameno, and historic local churches. It is recommended to consult the official channels for the final program.
Highlights Blue Monk Festival 2026
Traveling series with free admission among the villages of Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta, based at Villa Marazza in Borgomanero. Jazz, classical, and world music concerts accompanied by live painting and literary moments.
Prices Blue Monk Festival 2026
Practical information — Blue Monk Festival
Where
The main venue is Villa Marazza, Viale Marazza 5, Borgomanero (NO). Other concerts take place in various municipalities between Lake Maggiore and Lake Orta (Orta San Giulio, Ameno, Gozzano, Borgo Ticino, Omegna, Pella, Maggiora).
How to get there
By train: Borgomanero is on the Novara–Domodossola line. By car: from the A26 motorway, take the Borgomanero exit. Orta San Giulio can be reached via the Novara–Domodossola railway line (Orta-Miasino station).
Tickets
Most concerts are free to attend with a voluntary donation. Some events, particularly those paired with wine tastings, may require a fee. It is recommended to check the Fondazione Marazza website and the Blue Monk Association channels.
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Where does it take place — Blue Monk Festival
Villa Marazza
Viale Marazza 5, 28021 Borgomanero