Criminal Justice Festival

A festival that brings law to the public square

The Criminal Justice Festival is a widespread cultural event that, every spring, enlivens Modena and various municipalities in the Province — including Carpi — with meetings, debates, exhibitions, and shows dedicated to the world of justice. The objective has been clear since its inception in 2019: to bring complex issues of criminal law closer to the general public through accessible language, removing justice from the technical jargon of courtrooms to return it to citizens as a common good.

Modenese origins and identity

Conceived by jurists Luca Lupária Donati and Guido Sola and organized by the Criminal Justice Festival Association with the support of the academic community of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, the festival celebrated its first edition in June 2019. In just a few years, it has become a national reference point, capable of attracting magistrates, lawyers, academics, historians, and big names in Italian journalism to Modena and nearby towns.

A traveling event in Emilia-Romagna

The festival's winning formula is its widespread and traveling nature: the days are spread across multiple cities in Emilia-Romagna, each with its own events. Alongside Modena, the main host of the review, Carpi, Sassuolo, Formigine, Mirandola, and Pavullo nel Frignano regularly participate. In Carpi, the meetings take place in the city's symbolic venues, such as the Sala delle Vedute of Palazzo dei Pio, overlooking Piazza dei Martiri, and the Auditorium San Rocco.

The thematic thread

Each edition revolves around a theme that serves as a common thread for all meetings: from the relationship between justice and information to the reform of criminal proceedings, from restorative justice to international law. The dialogues bring together different viewpoints — academics, legal professionals, journalists, writers — on guarantees, trials, and a culture of legality, with a constant focus on accessible language.

Culture, music, and free entry

The festival is not just about conferences: alongside the meetings, there are readings, musical performances, exhibitions, and book presentations, weaving together law and culture. All events, both in Modena and Carpi, are usually free entry, a choice that reaffirms the event's popular and civic mission. It is this balance between legal rigor and public outreach that has made the Criminal Justice Festival an eagerly awaited event well beyond the borders of the Province of Modena.