Inaugural Ceremony Matera 2026

Matera, Capital of the Mediterranean

March 20, 2026, marks the beginning of the year in which Matera is the Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue, a title shared with the Moroccan city of Tetouan and promoted by the Union for the Mediterranean and the Anna Lindh Foundation. The inaugural ceremony, fittingly set on the International Day of Happiness, kicks off a program that runs until November 28.

From the Duni Theatre to the Gravina

The curtain rises at 5:00 PM with the extraordinary opening of the Cantiere del Teatro Duni (Duni Theatre Construction Site), which hosts the institutional moment. The celebration then moves into the Sassi with scattered performances, before the most anticipated moment: at 8:45 PM, the audience, gathered in Piazza San Pietro Caveoso, along Via Madonna delle Virtù, at Porta Pistola, and at the viewpoints, will turn their gaze to the ridge of the Gravina for a laser show with live electronic music.

The Drone Show over the Murgia

Following this, in the sky of the Murgia Park, hundreds of luminous drones will create scenographies that dialogue between the ancient stone of the Sassi and new technologies. A luminous signature that concludes the inaugural program around 9:30 PM, in front of thousands of spectators.

A Symbolic Beginning

Organized by the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation, the inaugural ceremony is the gateway to a year of events structured around four thematic "immersions," intertwining memory, territory, cultural exchange, and movement.