Leggo per legittima difesa

A widespread festival among the villages of L'Aquila

Leggo per legittima difesa is a traveling cultural festival that visits six municipalities in the province of L'Aquila every summer: Pettorano sul Gizio, Sulmona, Pratola Peligna, Raiano, Pacentro, and Campo di Giove. Launched in the summer of 2020 by the Terza Pagina Cultural Association and directed by journalist Chiara Buccini, the project reached its tenth edition in 2026, evolving from a simple series of book presentations into a full-fledged festival of storytelling, art, and music.

Culture in the Maiella mountains

The festival was born from a clear vision: to take books and stories out of bookstores and into the squares, castles, and civic halls of the small villages in inland Abruzzo. The stops are held in evocative settings such as the Cantelmo Castle in Pettorano sul Gizio or historic mountain centers, offering residents and numerous summer tourists a calendar full of author meetings, educational workshops for children, guided tours, and musical events. All events have free admission.

The Campo di Giove stops

Located at an altitude of over 1,000 meters at the foot of the Maiella, in the heart of the National Park, the municipality of Campo di Giove is one of the festival's six permanent stops. Every year, the village hosts some of the most evocative moments of the event: guided tours to discover the historic center, book presentations in municipal halls, and the traditional Ferragosto Concert, the highlight of the summer that combines live music with the mountain landscape.

A project rooted in the territory

With eleven book presentations, four workshops, three guided tours, and the Ferragosto concert, Leggo per legittima difesa has become a benchmark for the cultural summer of the Peligna Valley. The event, supported by local foundations and organizations, enhances the heritage of the L'Aquila villages and promotes reading as a tool for growth and cohesion for the mountain communities of Abruzzo.