I Luoghi del Tempo – Convento della Santissima Trinità alla Selva

The Maremma widespread festival stops in Santa Fiora

I Luoghi del Tempo is one of the most beloved cultural festivals in the Grosseto Maremma, Tuscany: a multidisciplinary, traveling event that has been guiding audiences for over fifteen years to discover a territory rich in villages, medieval fortresses, villas, pine forests, natural oases, archaeological sites, and spiritual places often far from mainstream tourist circuits. The concept is simple yet powerful: to bring theatre, music, literature, and tastings to the most hidden and evocative corners of the Grosseto province, turning every location into a natural stage.

Conceived and organized by the M.Arte Association, the festival takes place every year between late May and mid-June, with a series of events touching various municipalities of the Maremma and the Colline Metallifere. Among the most exciting stops is the one dedicated to the Municipality of Santa Fiora, on Mount Amiata, hosted in a place of great symbolic power: the Convento della Santissima Trinità alla Selva.

The Convento della Santissima Trinità alla Selva

Nestled in the woods on the slopes of Monte Calvo, at an altitude of about 634 meters, the convent of La Selva is one of the most evocative Franciscan sites in southern Tuscany. Its origins date back to the Middle Ages, and tradition links this forest hermitage to Franciscan spirituality, defined by poverty, silence, and harmony with nature. It is in this intimate setting that I Luoghi del Tempo crafts a special evening, capable of weaving together landscape, memory, and live performance.

Ascanio Celestini and early music for Saint Francis

The Santa Fiora stop is designed as a tribute to the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. The protagonist is Ascanio Celestini, one of Italy's most important storytellers and actors, with a performance-walk that offers an original and deeply human reinterpretation of the saint's figure, blending popular narrative, collective memory, and civic reflection. Alongside the theatre, the evening features the medieval concert «Altissima Luce» by Theatrum Instrumentorum, an ensemble specializing in early European and Mediterranean music, bringing the sacred and secular sounds of the Middle Ages back into the forest.

A widespread stage across the province of Grosseto

In addition to Santa Fiora, the festival's editions reach numerous municipalities and locations in the Maremma, including Castiglione della Pescaia, Civitella Paganico, Gavorrano, Roccastrada, Scarlino, Monterotondo Marittimo, Follonica, the Archaeological Park of Roselle, and the archaeological area of Cosa in Ansedonia. This traveling format has become the hallmark of the event and an original way to promote the cultural, historical, and environmental identity of southern Tuscany.

What to expect

• Great protagonists of Italian theatre, literature, and music
• Unique locations: the Franciscan convent of La Selva, immersed in the Amiata forest
• Performance and early music in dialogue with the history and spirituality of the site
• Intimate and quiet atmosphere, far from mass tourism
• An opportunity to discover a little-known corner of the Municipality of Santa Fiora, in Tuscany

I Luoghi del Tempo is much more than a cultural festival: it is a way of narrating the Maremma and its communities through landscape, memory, and art, bringing even the most secluded places, like the Convento della Santissima Trinità alla Selva, to the forefront.