Cross Festival – Contemplating the Invisible
Performing arts and spirituality on Lake Maggiore, between Verbania, Bee, and Nebbiuno
About Cross Festival
A festival dedicated to the body and the invisible
The Cross Festival is the major performing arts event on Lake Maggiore, organized by the CROSS ETS Foundation under the artistic direction of Antonella Cirigliano. Every June, it weaves together contemporary dance, theater, music, installations, and wellness practices in a widespread journey across Verbania and neighboring towns. The 2026 edition, titled "Contemplating the Invisible – Performing Arts and Spirituality," invites you to find your rhythm from within, focusing on listening, contemplation, and the relationship between art and the spiritual dimension.
Bee, the intimate heart of the program
In the Municipality of Bee, a small hillside village in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola overlooking Lake Maggiore, the festival finds its most meditative soul. Events take place primarily at the Albagnano Healing Meditation Centre, nestled in the woods, and in Piazza Barozzi, in the heart of the village. Here, the public can alternate physical practice, such as yoga workshops, with theater and dance performances, in an atmosphere far from the crowds and in close contact with nature.
Between dance, theater, and yoga
The program in Bee combines participatory moments and public performances: workshops and book presentations in the halls of Albagnano, a poetic theatrical piece by Antonio Catalano, and a national premiere of contemporary dance in the square. It is the perfect synthesis of the Cross Festival philosophy, which does not merely showcase performing arts but invites you to experience them firsthand.
A deeply rooted local event
Now in its fourteenth edition in 2026, the Cross Festival has become one of the most recognized cultural realities in Piedmont and the entire Lake Maggiore basin. With the support of the Piedmont Region, the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation, and local municipalities, it hosts Italian and international artists every year, alternating national premieres, artistic residencies, and projects dedicated to contemporary spirituality. For those visiting Verbania and the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola area in June, it is the ideal opportunity to discover an unexpected and profound side of Upper Piedmont.
Cross Festival — edition 2026
The fourteenth edition of the Cross Festival brings ten days of performing arts to Lake Maggiore dedicated to the theme "Contemplating the Invisible." The program, spread across Verbania, Bee, and Nebbiuno, alternates national dance premieres, theater, music, and wellness practices. In Bee, within the intimate setting of the Albagnano Healing Meditation Centre and Piazza Barozzi, the public will find some of the most intimate and meditative events of the program.
Programme Cross Festival 2026
Saturday, June 13 — Bee, Albagnano Healing Meditation Centre
- 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM — Yoga workshop with Federico Blardone (paid)
- Yoga Hall — Presentation of the book "Riflessi & Riflessioni" with Alessandra Scarci and Valentina Lattuada (free admission)
- Yoga Hall — "Arcaica. Spazio di Psicologia Incarnata" with Alessandra Scarci (paid, women only)
Sunday, June 14 — Bee, Albagnano Healing Meditation Centre (Tara Hall)
- 8:30 PM — "Come foglie, come vento, come morbidi pani" by Antonio Catalano, theater, duration 60 minutes (ticket 10 euros)
Thursday, June 18 — Bee, Piazza Barozzi
- 8:00 PM — "Transhumance – 1", national premiere by French choreographer Marie Bruel: a work weaving together contemporary dance, ecology, and memory, born from an artistic residency supported by the Institut Français Italia and the French Embassy in Italy. Repeat performances on June 20 at Piazza Mercato in Intra (Verbania) and at the M.G. Tagli.G. Taglietti Nursing Home Park in Nebbiuno.
The festival also includes numerous events in Verbania (Villa Simonetta, Casa Ceretti, Teatro Il Maggiore) with national premieres such as "Sacred Movements" by the Danish company Art of Listening and the evening series "Notturno" at Casa Ceretti.
Highlights Cross Festival 2026
Prices Cross Festival 2026
Practical information — Cross Festival
Where
Events in Bee (VB) are held at the Albagnano Healing Meditation Centre, at Via Campo dell'Eva 5, and in Piazza Barozzi, in the town center. Other festival events take place in Verbania and Nebbiuno.
How to get there
By car: Bee can be reached from the A26 motorway (Verbania/Gravellona Toce exit), continuing towards Verbania and then taking the hillside roads to Bee. By train: Verbania-Pallanza station on the Domodossola–Milan line, then continue by car or local bus.
Tickets
Tickets, season passes, discounts, and workshop registrations are available through the organization and the online ticketing platform. Some events are free, others require a fee. Info: [email protected] – tel. +39 351 8081786.
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Where does it take place — Cross Festival
Albagnano Healing Meditation Centre
Via Campo dell'Eva 5, 28813 Bee