Festival of Criminal Justice

A festival that brings law to the public square

The Festival of Criminal Justice is the cultural event that, every spring, enlivens Modena with meetings, debates, exhibitions, and shows dedicated to the world of justice. The objective, declared since the first edition in 2019, is to bring complex issues of criminal law closer to the general public through accessible language, removing justice from the technical jargon of courtrooms to return it to citizens as a common good. It is one of the most original events on the cultural scene in Emilia-Romagna.

Origins and Modenese identity

Conceived and scientifically directed by jurist Luca Lupária Donati and chaired by lawyer Guido Sola, the festival is organised by the Festival della Giustizia Penale Association in close collaboration with the Department of Law of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Unimore) and the Bar Association of Modena. The academic community of Modena is the beating heart of the event, which in a few years has become a national reference point, attracting magistrates, lawyers, academics, writers, and major names in Italian journalism to the city.

Venues in the historic centre

In Modena, the meetings are held in the city's symbolic locations: the main hall of the Department of Law in via San Geminiano, the Palazzo dei Musei, the Fondazione Collegio San Carlo, the historic Mercato Albinelli, the former day hotel in piazza Mazzini, the Teatro Michelangelo, and various bookshops in the centre. The event also has a widespread and itinerant nature, involving other municipalities in the Province of Modena such as Carpi, Sassuolo, Formigine, Mirandola, and Pavullo nel Frignano, alongside the provincial capital.

Thematic thread

Each edition revolves around a theme that serves as a common thread for all meetings: from the relationship between justice and information to the reform of criminal proceedings, from judicial error to media justice. The dialogues bring together different points of view – academics, legal professionals, journalists, writers – on guarantees, the right to defence, and a culture of legality, always with a constant focus on accessible language.

Culture, music, and free admission

The festival is not just about conferences: alongside the meetings, there are exhibitions, readings, musical performances, theatrical shows, and book presentations, in a continuous intertwining of law and culture. All events in Modena are usually free admission, a choice that reaffirms the popular and civil vocation of the event. It is this balance between legal rigour and dissemination that has made the Festival of Criminal Justice an anticipated event far beyond the borders of the Province of Modena and Emilia-Romagna.