Lago Maggiore LetterAltura Festival

A festival that tells stories of mountains and adventure

The Lago Maggiore LetterAltura Festival is now an unmissable event on the Italian cultural scene: dedicated to mountain, travel, and adventure literature, it transforms Verbania, in the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (VB) province, into a crossroads for stories, explorers, and curious readers every year. Founded in 2007 by the LetterAltura Association, the festival has built a unique identity over the years, bridging the gap between major industry publishing and direct dialogue between authors and the public.

The heart of the festival in Verbania Intra

The event takes place in the heart of Verbania Intra, with the picturesque Parco Besozzi Benioli serving as the main venue for meetings and the former Palazzo Pretorio in Piazza Ranzoni hosting exhibitions. The setting of Lake Maggiore, with its mountains reflected in the water, is not just a scenic backdrop: it is an integral part of the narrative, as LetterAltura speaks to those who walk, climb, travel, and cross boundaries—both geographical and internal.

Meetings, walks, and performances

The program weaves together book presentations, author meet-and-greets, literary walks along local trails, concerts, theatrical performances, and film screenings. Over the years, the festival has hosted some of the most prominent names in mountain and travel literature, mountaineering, and Italian cultural journalism. This is complemented by ilFESTIVALleSCUOLE, a series of meetings designed for local high school students, demonstrating a festival that also looks toward the new generations.

Toward the twentieth edition: "Winds of Adventure"

The 2026 edition marks a major milestone: the twentieth edition, scheduled from September 3 to 6, 2026, under the evocative title "Winds of Adventure". Leading up to the festival, the Dialogo con tè (Dialogue with Tea) pre-festival series accompanied the public from February to June with five monthly meetings at the former Palazzo Pretorio, dedicated to the various faces of contemporary adventure: from the mountains to the boundaries of the digital world, from the meaning of travel to the limits of the human body. A journey that confirms LetterAltura as one of the most original literary festivals in Piedmont and all of Northern Italy.