Farnese Festival
The international review of early music in the heart of the Pilotta
About Farnese Festival
The Farnese Festival
The Farnese Festival is the international review of early music that every year, at the beginning of June, enlivens the Monumental Pilotta Complex in Parma. The heart of the event is the renowned Teatro Farnese, the extraordinary wooden theatre built in 1618 at the behest of the Farnese dukes: a unique stage in the world that, for the occasion, rediscovers its original vocation as a place for music and performance.
Conceived by the director of the Pilotta Complex and entrusted to the artistic direction of violinist Fabio Biondi — founder of the ensemble Europa Galante and one of the foremost interpreters of the baroque repertoire worldwide — the festival offers a musical journey that intertwines Italian and European traditions of the 17th and 18th centuries.
A widespread review within the Pilotta Complex
In addition to the Teatro Farnese, concerts are held in some of the most evocative spaces of the complex: the Palatina Library, the National Gallery, the Music Room, and the Guazzatoio courtyard. Each venue dialogues with the musical program, transforming a visit to the review into a journey through the city's artistic history.
The festival is organized by the Monumental Pilotta Complex together with the Teatro Due Foundation, under the patronage of the Municipality of Parma. Parma, already the capital of the Farnesian Duchy and now a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, thus confirms its vocation as a city of music, in dialogue with the great operatic and instrumental tradition of Emilia-Romagna.
The Repertoire
The program alternates major baroque orchestras, rediscovered oratorios, concert performances of operas, and chamber recitals. Alongside Europa Galante, top-tier ensembles from the international scene take the stage, with a particular focus on forgotten music linked to the Farnesian court and composers active between Parma and Europe.
- Oratorios and concert performances in their modern premiere
- Chamber concerts dedicated to the repertoire for violin, voice, and early instruments
- Thematic programs exploring musical connections between Italy and Spain or the Germanic area
- Performances on period instruments and with historically informed practice
Why it's worth it
The Farnese Festival combines the quality of an international-level program with an unrepeatable setting. Listening to an 18th-century oratorio under the wooden tiers of the Teatro Farnese, or a Monteverdi madrigal amidst the masterpieces of the National Gallery, is an experience that few places in the world can offer. For early music enthusiasts and visitors wanting to discover Parma from a new perspective, it is an unmissable event.
Farnese Festival — edition 2026
The fourth edition of the Farnese Festival, held from June 3 to 8, 2026, had as its common thread the dialogue between European musical traditions of the 17th and 18th centuries, with special attention to Spain and its relationship with Italy. Directed by Fabio Biondi, the review brought together some of the most important ensembles of the international baroque scene in the spaces of the Monumental Pilotta Complex.
The opening was entrusted to the modern premiere of an 18th-century oratorio linked to Parma, while subsequent evenings alternated grand orchestral programs in the Teatro Farnese with refined chamber recitals in the other venues of the complex.
Programme Farnese Festival 2026
Wednesday, June 3 — Teatro Farnese, 8:30 PM
Oratorio «Santa Clotilde» (Parma 1733) by Francesco Corselli, in its modern premiere. Europa Galante, director and violin Fabio Biondi; with Lucia Cortese (Clotilde), Giuseppina Bridelli (Clodoveo), Vivica Genaux (San Remigio), Luca Tittoto (Aureliano), and the Coro Città di Parma.
Thursday, June 4 — Palatina Library, 8:30 PM
«Contrasti» — Spanish Songs from the Last Five Centuries. Alicia Amo (soprano), Miriam Cantero (cantaora), Giangiacomo Pinardi (lute, baroque guitar), Rodrigo Fernández (guitar). Music by Mudarra, JosĂ© MarĂn, Obradors, de Falla, GarcĂa Lorca.
Friday, June 5
- 6:00 PM — Teatro Due: «Il dialogo dei cani», musical creation based on novellas by Cervantes, music by Mauro D'Alay. Fabio Biondi (violin), Paola Poncet (harpsichord), Ensemble Teatro Due.
- 8:30 PM — Teatro Farnese: «Two Centuries of Spanish Music», ensemble MUSIca ALcheMIca, director Lina Tur Bonet. Music by Gaspar Sanz, Cabanilles, Selma y Salaverde, Falconiero, D. Scarlatti, Boccherini.
Saturday, June 6
- 6:00 PM — Palatina Library: «Ensaladas Musicales at the court of Alessandro IV Farnese», ensemble Allabastrina, director Elena Sartori.
- 8:30 PM — Teatro Farnese: «Bach, you are not alone!», ensemble Gli Incogniti, director Amandine Beyer. Concertos by J.S. Bach (BWV 1055R, 1043, 1064R) and Alessandro Marcello.
Sunday, June 7
- 6:00 PM — Music Room: «Parmigiani in Spain», La Compagnia de Violini, first violin Alessandro Ciccolini, soprano Paola Valentina Molinari. Music by Chelleri, D'Alay, Sertori.
- 8:30 PM — Teatro Farnese: «Beyond Orfeo», Polifem Consort, director Jordi Domènech; baritones Furio Zanasi and Ferrán Albrich. Homage to Francesco Rasi, with music by Rossi, Monteverdi, Peri, Marini, d'India.
Monday, June 8 — Teatro Farnese, 8:30 PM
«Symphonies by Luigi Boccherini». Europa Galante, director Fabio Biondi: Symphony No. 4 in D minor Op. 12 G 506 «La casa del diavolo» and Sinfonia Concertante in C major G 523.
Highlights Farnese Festival 2026
Prices Farnese Festival 2026
Practical information — Farnese Festival
Where it takes place
The festival is held at the Monumental Pilotta Complex, Piazzale della Pilotta 15, in the center of Parma. Concerts take place in the Teatro Farnese, the Palatina Library, the National Gallery, the Music Room, and the Guazzatoio courtyard.
How to get there
By train: Parma station is on the Milan-Bologna line; from the station, the Pilotta is about a 10-15 minute walk. By car: take the Parma exit from the A1 motorway; parking is available near the historic center (ZTL active in the center).
Tickets
Tickets and season passes are on sale at www.farnesefestival.it, at the Teatro Due Foundation, and at the Pilotta ticket office. Information: [email protected] — tel. 0521 230242.
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Where does it take place — Farnese Festival
Teatro Farnese, Complesso monumentale della Pilotta
Piazzale della Pilotta 15, 43121 Parma