Itinera – Travel Literature & Other Paths Festival

A literary festival among the villages of the Tirino Valley

Itinera – Travel Literature & Other Paths Festival is an itinerant cultural event held in the heart of inland Abruzzo, spanning the small towns of Ofena, Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi, and Capestrano in the Province of L'Aquila. The festival follows the historic transhumance route of the Tratturo Magno, using the theme of travel as its guiding thread: not just as a geographical movement, but as an exploration of the self, others, and both possible and impossible worlds.

An invitation to listen and reflect

Itinera aims to stimulate travel and exploration, serving as an invitation to listen, engage, and reflect, while fostering attention toward the environment and the inland areas of Abruzzo. The program weaves together literature, author meetings, and workshops, with a particular focus on promoting Abruzzese writers and rediscovering local folk traditions.

What the festival offers

• Book presentations and meetings with Italian and Abruzzese authors
• Writing workshops, including meditative writing paths
• Illustrated folk storytelling, from text to illustration
• Dialogues on inland areas, mountain life, and the environment
• Visits to local cultural sites, such as the Wolf and Pastoralism Museum in Carrufo

A cultural project for inland areas

Promoted by the Maks Cultural Association, Itinera is a project that brings culture, dialogue, and new perspectives to a territory often overlooked by major publishing circuits. By involving the Filomena Silvestrone Library in Ofena and other spaces across the three villages, the festival helps build a community of readers and connects the small realities of the Tirino Valley. The choice of a distributed event across multiple towns reflects the very spirit of Itinera: a journey that unites places, stories, and people along the ancient paths of Abruzzo.

Ofena and the Tirino Valley

Ofena, a small town in the Province of L'Aquila known as the "oven of Abruzzo" due to its particularly warm microclimate, is one of the festival's key locations alongside Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi and Capestrano. Situated at the foot of the Gran Sasso, these towns safeguard a heritage of history, nature, and tradition that Itinera celebrates through books and the spoken word.