Gravina City Theatre Festival — Sicilia Bedda

A festival celebrating Sicilian popular theatre

The Gravina City Theatre Festival "Sicilia Bedda" is the annual summer event dedicated to dialect theatre and brilliant comedy, hosted at the "Turi Ferro" Amphitheatre within the Parco Paolo Borsellino in Gravina di Catania, in the heart of the Etna metropolitan area, province of Catania (Sicily). The title, "Sicilia Bedda" (Beautiful Sicily), is a declaration of love for the land and its language: open-air evenings where the audience reconnects with its identity through laughter, applause, and the Sicilian dialect brought to the stage.

The history of the festival

The festival began in 2020, when the Municipality of Gravina di Catania launched its first edition, held between September 3rd and 20th. Over the years, the event has grown to become a pillar of the Gravina Summer (Estate Gravinese) calendar, a season of events that animates the Turi Ferro Amphitheatre, Parco Fasano, and Parco Borsellino from July to September with over twenty appointments, including concerts, musical tributes, family shows, and, of course, theatre.

Dialect theatre as the star

The heart of the festival lies in the local troupes from the Etna area, who perform two-act comedies with a strong popular flavour. The dramaturgy draws from the best of the Sicilian comic tradition: family misunderstandings, romantic skirmishes, colourful characters, and plot twists that guarantee genuine laughter. It is community theatre, designed to be shared with the neighbourhood and families in an open-air amphitheatre that becomes the city's living room during the summer.

A local initiative

The festival is organised by the Municipality of Gravina di Catania and is strongly supported by the local administration, with the goal of promoting local culture and offering citizens social opportunities at no cost: admission to the shows is free. "Sicilia Bedda" is thus part of a broader season of theatrical performances that, between late August and September, transforms the Turi Ferro Amphitheatre into a landmark for fans of popular theatre across the Catania area.