Harmonies in the Breathing Villages

A musical journey through the villages of the Sirente-Velino Park

Harmonies in the Breathing Villages is a traveling piano recital series promoted by the Sirente-Velino Regional Natural Park, which brings classical music to the small mountain towns of the province of L'Aquila, in Abruzzo, every summer. The initiative was born with the goal of introducing the history of classical music even far from city theaters, enhancing the park's villages—many of which are part of the "Breathing Villages" network for their air and environmental quality—through concerts that become special moments of sharing for local communities.

The Ovindoli stop

The Municipality of Ovindoli, overlooking the Altopiano delle Rocche at over 1,300 meters above sea level, hosts one of the series' stops in the Church of San Sebastiano. Known primarily as a tourist and ski resort in the Marsica region, Ovindoli reveals its most intimate and cultural side on this occasion: the piano becomes the protagonist of an evening capable of uniting nature, spirituality, and great music, in the setting of a mountain village in the heart of the Sirente-Velino Park.

Maria Gabriella Castiglione, the soul of the series

The common thread of the entire event is pianist Maria Gabriella Castiglione, a leading figure in the Italian piano scene. A graduate of the Pescara Conservatory with a background in sound engineering, she boasts over eight hundred concerts in her career and numerous awards, including gold medals from the Presidency of the Italian Republic. She received the UNESCO Award for "the significant contribution made to the promotion of world musical heritage."

A widespread festival in Abruzzo

Each edition visits different communities of the Sirente-Velino Park, transforming churches and squares of historic villages into intimate concert halls. The series, organized by the park authority, embraces the Abruzzo territory with a program that runs from late June to early September, involving different municipalities each time and offering the public the opportunity to discover little-known corners of the L'Aquila mountains.

Why attend

• A high-level piano recital with the award-winning Maria Gabriella Castiglione
• The charm of the Church of San Sebastiano, in the mountain village of Ovindoli
• A stop on the traveling series of the Sirente-Velino Regional Natural Park
• A project that combines culture, environment, and the enhancement of small Abruzzo communities

In the heart of Abruzzo, among the mountains of the province of L'Aquila, Harmonies in the Breathing Villages represents a different and precious way to experience the mountains: through the notes of the piano and the silent beauty of the park's villages.