Festival of the Lombard Lakes

A widespread festival across the Lombard lakes

The Festival of the Lombard Lakes is a travelling cultural event that, from late spring to early autumn, brings theatre, music, comedy, concerts, and documentaries to the most evocative locations on the lakes of Lombardy. Conceived and directed by Francesco Pellicini, originally from Luino, the festival begins in the town on Lake Maggiore, in the province of Varese.

Opening in Luino

The edition kicks off in Luino with a four-day opening, coinciding with and co-produced by the Festival of Theatre and Comedy of the City of Luino, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary. From here, the festival extends to cover five Lombard provinces — Varese, Brescia, Bergamo, Lecco, and Sondrio — as well as the neighbouring territories of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Canton Ticino.

Tributes to the region and major guests

The festival pays tribute to the great cultural figures linked to Luino and the lakes: the writer Piero Chiara, the playwright Dario Fo, the singer-songwriter and journalist Nanni Svampa, the poet Vittorio Sereni, the philosopher Giovanni Reale, and the champion Gigi Riva. Esteemed guests such as Mogol, Cochi Ponzoni, and Massimo Boldi take to the stage, in a programme that intertwines performance and memory, supported by the Lombardy Region and Fondazione Cariplo.