Cross Festival – Contemplating the Invisible

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 program that spans Verbania and its neighboring towns. The 2026 edition, titled "Contemplating the Invisible – Performing Arts and Spirituality," invites audiences to find their rhythm from within, focusing on listening, contemplation, and the relationship between art and the spiritual dimension.

Nebbiuno, home of the festival

The Municipality of Nebbiuno, a small hillside village in the Province of Novara suspended between Lake Maggiore and the Vergante area, is no ordinary stop on the schedule: it is the headquarters of the CROSS Foundation, the entity that brings the entire event to life. In 2026, Nebbiuno hosts one of the program's national premieres in the green setting of the M.G. Taglietti Nursing Home Park, an intimate outdoor space perfect for the dialogue between dance and landscape that the festival seeks to explore.

"Transhumance – 1", dance meets the territory

On June 20, Nebbiuno hosts the national premiere of "Transhumance – 1" by French choreographer Marie Bruel. This work weaves together contemporary dance, ecology, and the memory of transhumance. Born from an artistic residency supported by the Institut Français Italia and the French Embassy in Italy, the project engages local communities, farmers, and young people. The performance, which premieres on June 18 in Bee and is repeated on June 20 in Verbania, finds one of its most evocative settings in Nebbiuno, in close contact with the nature of the Vergante.

An event rooted in the territory

Now in its fourteenth edition in 2026, the Cross Festival is one of the most recognized cultural events in Piedmont and the entire Lake Maggiore basin. With the support of the Piedmont Region, local municipalities, and international partners, it hosts Italian and foreign artists every year, alternating national premieres, artistic residencies, and projects dedicated to contemporary spirituality. For those visiting Lake Maggiore in June, the Nebbiuno stage is the ideal opportunity to discover an unexpected and profound side of Upper Piedmont.