Crinali Festival — Lake Santa Maria Stage (Ocarine di Budrio)

A Musical Walk on Lake Santa Maria

The Crinali Festival is one of the most original cultural experiences in the Bolognese Apennines: not a program of shows confined to a theatre, but an intertwining of walks, landscapes, and music that transforms villages, trails, and ridges into open-air stages. The Lake Santa Maria stage, in the Municipality of Castiglione dei Pepoli (Metropolitan City of Bologna), combines a guided excursion with a concert on the lake's shores.

The Ocarine di Budrio on the Lake's Shores

On Saturday, June 27, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, the public will reach Lake Santa Maria on foot, accompanied by a guide. Around noon, on the banks of the reservoir, the concert by the Ocarine di Budrio will take place. This is a group of young musicians united by their passion for music and for an instrument – the ocarina – whose historical homeland is Budrio, in the Bolognese area. Listening to this sweet, ancient sound outdoors, in the silence of the mountains, is a very different experience from listening in a hall: the location is not just a backdrop but becomes part of the performance. Participants in the walk will be offered a picnic basket with products from local farms for lunch by the lake.

Coinciding with the Feast of the Wool and Silk Road

The event is part of the weekend of the Feast of the Wool and Silk Road (June 27-28, 2026), an event dedicated to slow tourism and the famous trail connecting Bologna to Prato via Castiglione dei Pepoli and Montepiano. The inaugural walk to the lake starts in the morning from Piazza della Libertà in Castiglione dei Pepoli; in the afternoon, the market and festival events begin, while in the evening, the square hosts further concerts and a dinner under the stars.

What is the Crinali Festival?

Now in its tenth edition in 2026, Crinali runs from May 27 to October 17 with over sixty performances spread across fourteen municipalities in the Bolognese Apennines, featuring classical, experimental, and electronic music, theatre, puppet theatre, circus, and dance. Many events are preceded by a guided walk that leads the audience to the performance venue. The artistic musical direction is entrusted to Carlo Maver and Claudio Carboni, while the general coordination is by Francesca Marchi and the organization is by the Union of Municipalities of the Bolognese Apennines.

Castiglione dei Pepoli and the High Apennines

Castiglione dei Pepoli is located in the upper Setta and Brasimone valley, straddling Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, along the historic routes that cross the Apennines. Lake Santa Maria, with its woods and the nearby abbey, is the ideal place for a day that combines nature, walking, and music. For many participants, the stage thus becomes a double discovery: the sound of the ocarinas and a little-known corner of the Emilia-Romagna Apennines.