Diorama Festival

A traveling festival illuminating the villages of Abruzzo

Diorama Festival is a nomadic cultural project that traverses Abruzzo, using the languages of contemporary art, music, and visual culture to narrate and enhance the local landscape. Conceived and directed by Paolo Cicalini, the festival does not simply arrive for a single event; it builds authentic relationships with local institutions and communities, rooting art within the villages and sparking a vibrant dialogue between the contemporary and the traditional.

The Loreto Aprutino stop

In the Municipality of Loreto Aprutino, in the province of Pescara, Diorama Festival returns for its fourth consecutive edition. The heart of the event is the Fontana Grande (or Fontana Vecchia), a monumental 18th-century work that stands as one of the village's most iconic landmarks. At sunset, it is transformed into a luminous architectural canvas by a videomapping installation that interacts directly with the stone, the water, and the surrounding landscape.

Art, music, and heritage

The program weaves together multiple disciplines into a single day. Local culture takes center stage with the Evo Experience, a tasting journey dedicated to extra virgin olive oil at the Regional Oil Library, while the village's museums throw open their doors: the Acerbo Ceramics Museum, the Oil Museum, the Municipal Antiquarium, and the Permanent Pre-cinema Exhibition.

• Visual Arts: performances created in collaboration with ABAQ – Academy of Fine Arts of L'Aquila, featuring young local artists
• Talks: sessions dedicated to success stories bridging dreams and provincial life
• Live music and DJ sets: live performances and musical selections that keep the square buzzing until late
• Videomapping: a site-specific light-art installation on the Fontana Grande

An artistic residency throughout the journey

The festival accompanies its stops with a traveling artistic residency entrusted to an artist who follows the entire route through Abruzzo, culminating in a final exhibition dedicated to the Diorama journey. The event is free to attend and is promoted by the Municipality of Loreto Aprutino with the support of the Abruzzo Region and the collaboration of local associations and academic institutions.