Diorama Festival

An itinerant festival through the villages of Abruzzo

Diorama Festival is an event dedicated to sophisticated music, visual arts, and contemporary culture, conceived and directed by Paolo Cicalini. Designed as an itinerant event, the festival visits different locations across the Abruzzo region each year, fostering a constant dialogue between sound, image, and the urban landscape at every stop. The Città Sant'Angelo edition, in the municipality of the same name in the province of Pescara, is one of the festival's historic appointments, now reaching several consecutive editions.

The setting: the historic center of Città Sant'Angelo

The festival chooses the heart of the village as its stage: the Cloister of the former Convent of San Francesco and Piazza del Teatro, two history-steeped spaces that offer an intimate and evocative atmosphere. Città Sant'Angelo, overlooking the hills that slope down toward the Adriatic, is listed among the most beautiful villages in Italy and provides the festival with a natural backdrop of narrow alleys, stone portals, and glimpses of the Abruzzo landscape.

Music, DJ sets, and sound research

The musical programming focuses on the most interesting acts of the Italian instrumental and electronic scene. Live performances range from electronica to psychedelic funk, ambient, and library music, with sets that blend synthesizers, guitars, and grooves, balancing improvisation with cinematic suggestions. Accompanying the evenings are the Diorama Festival resident DJs, key figures in the contemporary electronic scene, who keep the dance floor alive until late at night.

Visual arts and collaboration with ABAQ

One of the festival's hallmarks is its ongoing collaboration with ABAQ – Academy of Fine Arts of L'Aquila, which signs off on site-specific audio-video installations and performances designed for the village's spaces every year. The projections and performances, curated by professors and young artists from the Academy, transform the cloister and squares into sites of visual experimentation, with projects that also connect to an itinerant artistic residency destined to culminate in a season-closing exhibition.

Street food and local products

Beyond the artistic offerings, Diorama Festival presents an enogastronomic selection featuring street food, wines, craft beers, and typical Abruzzo products, allowing guests to experience the evening by combining music, art, and local flavors. Admission is always free.

Città Sant'Angelo and Abruzzo

Located in the province of Pescara, in Abruzzo, Città Sant'Angelo is a destination appreciated for its historic center, extra virgin olive oil, and proximity to the Adriatic coast. The Diorama Festival stop helps promote the village, combining the discovery of heritage with a contemporary cultural proposal of regional and national reach.