Castroreale Jazz Festival

A jazz festival in the heart of a medieval village

The Castroreale Jazz Festival is one of the longest-running and most acclaimed jazz events in Sicily. Founded in 2001 and organized by the Pro Loco Artemisia, for over two decades it has transformed the historic center of Castroreale—a small town in the Peloritani mountains in the province of Messina and one of Italy's Most Beautiful Villages—into a vast, immersive musical space. The main stage is Piazza Sandro Pertini, framed by the 15th-century bell tower and the village's monuments, where the stars of Italian and international jazz perform every summer.

An open and high-quality artistic vision

Under the artistic direction of Piero Salvo, the festival has always maintained a program attentive to the various nuances of jazz, welcoming artists capable of crossing boundaries into swing, world music, Mediterranean sounds, and singer-songwriter traditions. Over the years, Castroreale has hosted some of the biggest names in the jazz scene, confirming its status as a landmark for quality music lovers throughout the region. Since 2016, the event has also expanded to the castle of Milazzo, in collaboration with the "Luci a Sud" association.

Music, territory, and Mediterranean flavor

The Castroreale Jazz Festival is more than just music: the event weaves concerts together with the discovery of the territory, talk shows, cooking demonstrations with local chefs, and local food and wine, as part of projects that promote the villages and mountains of the Messina area. The concerts begin in the evening, offering an intimate and evocative atmosphere amidst the ancient stones of the village and the starry Sicilian summer sky.

Castroreale and the Peloritani mountains

Perched on the hills overlooking the Gulf of Patti and the Aeolian Islands, Castroreale preserves churches, palaces, and views that serve as a natural backdrop for the festival. Some events even reach the Cardà recreational area in the Peloritani highlands for concerts immersed in nature. The festival thus represents an opportunity to combine great music with slow tourism, discovering the Messina hinterland and the Sicily Region.