Humanistic Culture Festival
The Valdarno symposium dedicated to thought, education, and the roots of humanism
About Humanistic Culture Festival
A symposium in the heart of Valdarno
The Humanistic Culture Festival is an event that, every spring, transforms Figline e Incisa Valdarno—a municipality in the province of Florence, Tuscany—into a place of collective reflection. Promoted by the Accademia Marsilio Ficino ETS and the Istituto Paritario Marsilio Ficino, in collaboration with the Feeria cultural association, the Comunità di San Leolino di Panzano in Chianti, and the local municipality, the Festival revives the ancient form of the symposium: a banquet of words where scholars and the public meet to reason together.
The Festival format
Each edition revolves around a major theme, explored over three intense days. The program alternates between lectiones magistrales, conversations, round-table discussions, and multi-voice forums, giving the floor to philosophers, art historians, classicists, sociologists, psychologists, and educators. It is a festival of ideas rather than spectacle: what matters is the exchange, the quality of the contributions, and the opportunity for everyone to participate freely.
Venues in Figline
The meetings take place in the most evocative spots of Figline's historic center: the Cinema Teatro Roma, the Oratorio Don Bosco, and the Chiesa di San Francesco, just a stone's throw from Piazza Marsilio Ficino, the town's civic heart. The bond with the Neoplatonic philosopher Marsilio Ficino, who was born in Figline in 1433, gives the Festival a strong sense of identity: here, humanism is not an abstraction, but a local tradition.
An event for everyone
Participation is free and open to the public until capacity is reached. Over the years, the Festival has grown, attracting nationally renowned speakers and an audience of students, teachers, families, and curious minds. It has become one of the most recognizable cultural events in the Valdarno calendar, capable of bringing high-level debate to a provincial town.
Why it is worth attending
- Nationally acclaimed speakers covering philosophy, education, art, and classical studies.
- Free admission to all meetings.
- Historic venues in the center of Figline e Incisa Valdarno.
- A different, timely, and debated theme every year.
- The humanistic legacy of Marsilio Ficino, the town's illustrious son.
Humanistic Culture Festival — edition 2026
7th Symposium — "Socrates, where are you?"
The 2026 edition of the Humanistic Culture Festival brought the theme of education to Figline e Incisa Valdarno, with the title "Socrates, where are you? From school as an obligation to education as a shared journey." Philosophers, educators, classicists, and psychologists questioned the school of the future, increasingly open to the territory and no longer confined to classrooms. The event also celebrated the centenary of the Istituto Paritario Marsilio Ficino.
Programme Humanistic Culture Festival 2026
Friday, May 8
- 09:15 — Institutional greetings and lectio by Anna Maria Debolini (psychologist and psychotherapist): «Cultivating the future: the challenge of educating»
- 12:00 — Claudio Gentili (Job&Orienta Scientific Committee): «The human dimension in technological education»
- Evening — Conversation: «The value of new fragilities in adolescence»
- Evening — Round-table: «The art of loving: breaking the chains of addiction»
Saturday, May 9
- Morning — Greetings from authorities
- Elena Ugolini (former Undersecretary of Public Education): «School as a place to discover oneself and reality»
- Pietro Del Soldà : «Platonic eros as a source of knowledge»
- Roberto Carnero: «Teaching Literature as a practice of relationship»
- Afternoon — Don Carmelo Mezzasalma: «The compass of culture. The Comunità di San Leolino and the educational problem»
- Afternoon — Forum on educational methodologies (Montessori, Don Milani, school experimentation)
Sunday, May 10
- Morning — Andrea Bacchi: «Is Art History a common language for Italians?»
- Morning — Stefano Quaglia (classicist): «A new frontier for classical disciplines»
- Afternoon — Giovanna Morelli: «Humanistic culture and the Socratic magisterium in Ivan Illich»
- Afternoon — Forum on history and participatory methodologies in education
Venues: Cinema Teatro Roma, Oratorio Don Bosco, and Chiesa di San Francesco.
Highlights Humanistic Culture Festival 2026
Prices Humanistic Culture Festival 2026
Practical information — Humanistic Culture Festival
How to get there
Figline e Incisa Valdarno is easily accessible by train on the Florence-Arezzo-Rome line (Figline Valdarno station, a few minutes' walk from the center). By car, take the Incisa-Reggello exit on the A1 motorway, then follow the provincial road towards Figline.
Venues
Events are held at the Cinema Teatro Roma, the Oratorio Don Bosco, and the Chiesa di San Francesco, all located in the historic center.
Admission and reservations
All meetings are free and open to the public until capacity is reached. For information and the updated program: tel. +39 055 9153800, [email protected], website festivalculturaumanistica.it.
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Where does it take place — Humanistic Culture Festival
Cinema Teatro Roma, Oratorio Don Bosco e Chiesa di San Francesco
Piazza San Francesco, 10, 50063 Figline e Incisa Valdarno