Emilia Romagna Festival (ERF Summer) — Concerts in Castel San Pietro Terme

Emilia Romagna Festival in Castel San Pietro Terme

The Emilia Romagna Festival (ERF) is one of the most important music events in Emilia-Romagna: born in 2001 around the Imola district, it now counts over fifty concerts each summer, more than six hundred artists involved, and about twenty venues spread across the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Forlì-Cesena, and Ravenna. The artistic direction is entrusted to the flutist Massimo Mercelli, who has led the festival for years under the banner of dialogue between tradition and innovation, summarized in the motto «Classic is contemporary».

The Municipality of Castel San Pietro Terme, a spa town along the Via Emilia in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, is one of the festival's favorite stops. Here, ERF offers several events each summer that combine great music with a broader experience, including walks, guided tours, and tastings of local products.

The Sound of Water at the Thermal Park

The heart of the Castel San Pietro Terme presence is the «Il Suono dell'Acqua» (The Sound of Water) series, hosted in the green surroundings of the Thermal Park. The concerts range from classical music to jazz and experimental singer-songwriter folk-pop, and are preceded in the late afternoon by collateral activities: guided tours of the park, philosophical walks, and wine and local product tastings at the Bistrot Gastarea. A formula that invites the public to experience the entire evening amidst nature, water, thought, and music.

Big Names at the Castle Arena

Alongside the thermal park, some of the most anticipated concerts take place on the stage of the Castle Arena, the open-air venue in the city's historic center. It is here that the festival welcomes renowned singer-songwriters and Italian performers, with evenings that alternate lightness, irony, and instrumental refinement.

A Widespread and Accessible Festival

True to its mission, the Emilia Romagna Festival chooses unusual and evocative locations — fortresses, abbeys, museums, parks — to bring great repertoire music closer to a wide audience. In Castel San Pietro Terme, the concerts at the Thermal Park are free admission, while the events at the Castle Arena require tickets that can be purchased online and at the Municipal Tourism and Culture Office. A proposal that makes this corner of Emilia-Romagna an ideal summer destination for music lovers.