Jazz sotto la Torre

A jazz festival in the heart of the Majella

Jazz sotto la Torre is one of the longest-running and most beloved music festivals in the Abruzzo hinterland. Every summer, it transforms Palena, a mountain village in the province of Chieti immersed in the Majella National Park, into a landmark for jazz and singer-songwriter music enthusiasts. The event, organized by the Municipality of Palena together with the Teatro dell'Aventino association, was founded in 1994 and has spanned over thirty years of history, becoming a fixed appointment in the Abruzzo summer calendar.

Between classic jazz and cross-genre fusion

The hallmark of the festival is its openness to cross-genre fusion: alongside traditional jazz, there is room for singer-songwriter music, folk, ethnic music, and tribute projects that reinterpret famous repertoires with a jazz twist. The program deliberately gives space to both established musicians and young emerging talents from the Italian scene, with particular attention to experimental musical projects that rarely find stages in major circuits.

The Teatro Aventino and the civic tower

The heart of the event is the Teatro Aventino "E.M. Margadonna", a venue that hosts evening concerts, generally at 9:30 PM. In some editions, performances have also been held outdoors, in the small square in front of the Ducal Castle and the historic center's civic tower, the symbolic element that gives the festival its name. The setting, amidst stone alleys and the Majella landscape, adds an intimate and cozy atmosphere to the concerts, very different from that of large city festivals.

Palena and the surrounding area

Palena is a small municipality in inland Abruzzo, known for the Eremo della Madonna dell'Altare, the springs of the Aventino river, and the Quarto Santa Chiara Nature Reserve. Attending Jazz sotto la Torre means combining the enjoyment of good music with the discovery of an authentic territory, defined by nature, tradition, and mountain hospitality. The festival is one of the cultural events that help keep life vibrant in a village of the Chieti hinterland during the summer.

An unmissable event

With its understated yet artistically high-level formula, Jazz sotto la Torre confirms itself year after year as an important stop for those who love quality jazz in a cozy and evocative setting. A small festival that, in the silence of August mountain evenings, knows how to offer deeply moving musical experiences.