Geothermal Hills Festival

A festival in the warm heart of Tuscany

The Geothermal Hills Festival is one of the most original and deeply rooted contemporary theatre festivals in Tuscany. Created to give a voice to the geothermal villages, it travels each year through the municipalities of the Upper Val di Cecina and the Metalliferous Hills: Pomarance (Province of Pisa), Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina, Monteverdi Marittimo, Monterotondo Marittimo, and Montieri. It is a theatre that steps out of traditional venues to inhabit squares, historic theatres, and villages marked by steam and fumaroles, within a territory recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Pomarance, the heart of the festival

Pomarance is no ordinary venue for the festival: it is the headquarters of the Officine Papage association, which conceives and produces the event, and it is from here that the festival officially begins. Performances are concentrated in some of the most beautiful spots in the municipality: the Teatro De Larderel, the Teatro dei Coraggiosi, the open-air space of Il Piazzone, and Piazza Cavour, as well as evocative locations like Casa Bicocchi. It is in Pomarance that the community meets the artists every year, in a continuous dialogue between theatre, landscape, and local identity.

The Beauty of the Margins

The 15th edition, scheduled from May 14 to July 11, 2026, is themed "The Beauty of the Margins": an invitation to look at inland territories, peripheral locations, and stories on the fringes as a heritage of meaning and poetry. The program features 44 events, with 6 world premieres and 4 national previews, under the artistic direction of Marco Pasquinucci and the organizational direction of Annastella Giannelli.

Events in Pomarance

The 2026 program in Pomarance weaves together big names from the Italian scene, international companies, and productions dedicated to younger audiences:

• "Ho visto Van Gogh. Matteo si espone" by Teatro Magro, the show that inaugurates the festival at the Teatro De Larderel;
• "Oasi Kebab" by OperazioneMiro and "Metamorfoses" by the Portuguese company Teatro Da Garagem (Lisbon), at the Teatro dei Coraggiosi;
• "La ricerca della felicità" by and with Stefano Massini, performed outdoors at Il Piazzone;
• "Aspettando Godot…Ha detto che non viene" by Paola Consani, at the Teatro dei Coraggiosi;
• "Disastri. Ovvero quel che resta" by Pilar Ternera – Compagnia A.D.D.A. at the Teatro De Larderel and "Luisa" by Valentina Dal Mas in Piazza Cavour.

Accessible and community-focused theatre

The festival pays great attention to inclusion, with an "Open" section designed for people with disabilities, families, and senior audiences, and a constant focus on young artists under 35. In addition to the performances, the program includes workshops, theatrical walks, one-on-one performances, and community meetings. A formula that makes this festival much more than a theatre schedule: it is a way to rediscover the villages of inland Tuscany and their extraordinary relationship with nature.