Laga Rural Villages Cultural Festival

A traveling festival through the Laga villages

The Laga Rural Villages Cultural Festival is one of the most original cultural events in the central Apennines. It is not concentrated in a single location, but is an itinerant and widespread festival that unfolds over many months, often cited as one of the longest-running cultural events in Europe. Its stages touch about twenty municipalities distributed between Abruzzo and Marche, along the Monti della Laga massif, the Monti Gemelli, the Alto Aterno, and the Acquasanta Apennines. The event is promoted by the Borghi e Sentieri della Laga OdV association in partnership with FederTrek Escursionismo e Ambiente APS, with the patronage of the involved municipalities.

The festival was born to promote the cultural revaluation and social regeneration of inland mountain areas, which have been affected by depopulation and the 2016-2017 earthquake. Each edition revolves around a theme: in 2026, the guiding thread is "Beyond the darkness of the earthquake: human value and cultural heritage in the villages that resist," coinciding with L'Aquila being the Italian Capital of Culture 2026.

The Poggio Cancelli stop, a hamlet of Campotosto

In the Municipality of Campotosto, in the province of L'Aquila (Abruzzo), the festival finds one of its most defining stages in the hamlet of Poggio Cancelli, at the foot of the Monti della Laga and overlooking Lake Campotosto. Here, the day takes place at the village's MAP Area and is dedicated to pastoral civilization: the history of transhumance, the relationship between rural communities and the mountains, and the oral memory passed down from generation to generation.

The heart of the event is pastoral poetry. A major focus is given to the poeti a braccio, protagonists of an ancient folk tradition still alive in many Apennine communities: improvised rhyming compositions, sung live, that recount the work of shepherds and the life of the flock. Among the documented works, the poem "Gregge Romane" by Agostino Annibaldi, a transhumant shepherd from Poggio Cancelli, stands out—a work in hendecasyllables of over 2,500 verses divided into twelve chapters, a precious testimony to the pastoral culture of the Laga.

Culture, memory, and community

The Poggio Cancelli stop is not just a literary moment: it is an encounter between those who inhabit these places and those who visit them, a form of slow and conscious tourism that combines book presentations, direct testimonies from shepherds, unpublished historical images, and folk music with ciaramelle and improvised singing. It is a formula that intertwines intangible heritage, hiking, and collective memory, giving a voice back to a border territory between Abruzzo, Lazio, and Marche.

A widespread and participatory event

Participation in the stages of the Laga Rural Villages Cultural Festival is open to everyone and free of charge, in a participatory and communal spirit. The Poggio Cancelli stop is curated by local entities, including the magazine Radici, and hosted by local families and associations. For lunch and logistics regarding hiking days, booking is usually required at the agritourisms and with the contacts indicated on the flyer for each stage.