Isabella Morra Festival

Poetry Returns Home

The Isabella Morra Festival is a poetic project that links Basilicata and Puglia in the name of the Renaissance poet Isabella Morra, who was born and died very young in Valsinni Castle (Province of Matera). Conceived and curated by the poet Barbara Gortan, the festival is born from a suggestive idea: to transform the castle into a true residence for contemporary poetry.

Isabella's Places

The heart of the project is the poetic residence "Isabella's Places": poets are invited to stay within the walls of the castle where the genius of the "sublime poetess" was born and to draw inspiration for a contemporary composition or tribute. Each poem created becomes part of the festival's official archive and is read during the event days, in a living collective memory that continues to generate beauty.

Between Valsinni and Taranto

The festival takes place between Valsinni Castle and Taranto, intertwining the two territories that inspire the project. Amidst stone, history, and silence, poetry finds its home, in a dialogue between Isabella's 16th century and contemporary voices.

A Tragic and Modern Figure

Isabella Morra, who lived in the 16th century, was killed at just twenty-five years old due to a relationship (epistolary) opposed by her family: her story and her verses make her one of the most intense and modern voices in Italian poetry. Valsinni dedicates an entire literary park to her and, with this festival, a new chapter of life.