ColtoCircuito

A festival that turns the village into an open-air living room

ColtoCircuito is a series of talks dedicated to current affairs, literature, and the world of entertainment that brings the summer in Castellabate to life. Located in the province of Salerno, overlooking the Cilento sea in Campania, the town provides the perfect backdrop. The format is simple yet effective: no traditional stage, but rather an evening conversation between a well-known guest and a journalist, with the audience seated just a few meters away, free to join the discussion. The result is what the organizers call a true open-air cultural salon.

The festival was born from an idea by DliveMedia, led by Roberto Vargiù, and is supported by the Castellabate municipal administration, which has permanently included it in its summer program alongside the musical and theatrical evenings at Villa Matarazzo. In just a few years, ColtoCircuito has become a hallmark of the Cilento summer: following the third edition in 2025, 2026 confirmed the formula and expanded the calendar, with an early start at the end of May.

The venues: the Castello dell'Abate, the port, and the squares

The traveling nature of the event is part of its charm. Each evening changes scenery, traversing the different souls of the municipality, which stretches from the medieval hilltop village down to the seaside hamlets:

• The courtyard of the Castello dell'Abate, in the main town: the 12th-century fortress that gives the village its name, with its internal courtyard serving as a natural amphitheater.
• The San Marco Port Area, with a stage overlooking the boats and the sea.
• Piazza Caduti del Mare and the Lungomare Punta dell'Inferno, in Santa Maria di Castellabate.
• Piazza Madre Teresa di Calcutta, in the hamlet of Lago.

Events almost always take place at 9:30 PM, when the heat subsides and the village fills with residents and tourists. Admission is free, with no reservations required—a choice championed by the administration, which views the festival as a cultural service for both the community and visitors.

The guests: cinema, television, journalism, and sports

The hallmark of ColtoCircuito is the variety of worlds it brings to the same table. Over the years, it has hosted cinema and theater actors, directors, screenwriters, sports commentators, television hosts, and investigative journalists. The 2026 edition saw the arrival in Castellabate of Rai radio commentator Francesco Repice, journalist and writer Luca Sommi, actors Alessandro Preziosi, Irene Maiorino, and Giovanni Esposito, actor and director Marco D'Amore—known as Ciro Di Marzio from the series Gomorra—and director and screenwriter Paolo Genovese, author of Perfect Strangers.

These are not promotional presentations: guests are invited to share their stories, reflect on the turning points of their careers, and engage with questions from the audience. It is this departure from the conventional author meeting that makes the format so compelling.

Why it's worth the trip

Castellabate is one of the most visited villages in Cilento, having entered the national imagination through cinema and being listed among the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy. Attending a ColtoCircuito evening means seeing the town in its most authentic dimension, as a community gathering in the square after dinner. Visitors from outside the region can easily build a day around the event, enjoying the beach at Santa Maria, the historic hilltop center, and the Cilento cuisine, the recognized home of the Mediterranean diet.

The festival, along with the rest of the municipal program, helps extend the local cultural season well beyond mid-August, bringing audiences to the village as early as late spring.