Liberation Day Festival at Casa Cervi
Memory, music, and Resistance in the heart of the Reggio Emilia plains
About April 25th at Casa Cervi
A Day of Liberation at the Home of the Cervi Brothers
The Liberation Day Festival at Casa Cervi is one of the most heartfelt and attended April 25th celebrations in Italy. It takes place at Casa Cervi, in the hamlet of Praticello di Gattatico, in the province of Reggio Emilia, in the heart of the Emilia plains. This is where the Cervi family lived and from where the seven Cervi brothers departed, shot by fascists in December 1943: a place that has become one of the strongest symbols of the Italian Resistance and which today houses the Cervi Museum and the Alcide Cervi Institute.
Memory, Civil Engagement, and Music
Organized by the Alcide Cervi Institute, the festival combines historical remembrance with popular participation. Throughout the day, testimonies from partisans and activists, speeches by mayors and institutional representatives, journalists, and voices of civil engagement alternate on stage, in a constant dialogue between the memory of the Liberation and current issues: peace, rights, anti-fascism.
Alongside the speeches, music has always been a protagonist: over the years, singer-songwriters and Italian folk-rock artists have performed at Casa Cervi, from Cisco of Modena City Ramblers to Vinicio Capossela, from Bandabardò to Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti and Punkreas, up to the traditional Resistant DJ Set that accompanies the audience into the evening.
A Festival for Everyone
The event is designed as a great community gathering open to families: there are readings and workshops for children on the themes of peace and the Resistance, a review dedicated to young people, food stalls with the flavors of Emilian tradition and options catering to different dietary needs. Admission is by free donation, and the Cervi Museum remains open for free visits throughout the event.
A National Event
With over 20,000 attendees each year, the Liberation Day Festival at Casa Cervi is now a nationally significant event for April 25th in Emilia-Romagna. In years of important anniversaries, the day has been accompanied by national television broadcasts, confirming Casa Cervi's role as one of the main sites of remembrance for the Liberation in Italy.
April 25th at Casa Cervi — edition 2026
For the 81st anniversary of the Liberation, on Saturday, April 25, 2026, Casa Cervi hosted a day of memory, participation, and future, from 10 am to 8 pm, with free admission and over 20,000 expected attendees. The festival combined major concerts from the Italian folk-rock scene with speeches by partisans, activists, and institutional representatives, in the spirit of the Cervi brothers' Resistance.
Programme April 25th at Casa Cervi 2026
Saturday, April 25, 2026 — 10 am to 8 pm
Opening of the Cervi Museum (free to visit from 10 am to 8 pm) and food stalls with Emilian traditional dishes, vegetarian, vegan options, and space for celiacs (Italian Celiac Association).
- 11:30 am — Readings on peace and the Resistance for children and families (Educational Hall of Casa Cervi Park), as part of the "25 Aprile Young" review
- 14:15 — Opening with Kiranjit Kaur (Municipal Councilor of Novellara); screening of scenes from Vittorio Gassman's interview with Alcide Cervi (1963); speeches by the Provincial Student Council
- 15:00 — Concert by Cisco, historic voice of Modena City Ramblers, featuring songs of the Resistance
- 17:00 — Concert by Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti
- 18:30 — Concert by Punkreas
- Following — Resistant DJ Set by Mark Bee until the end of the day
Guests and institutional interventions: Marco Massari (Mayor of Reggio Emilia), Michele De Pascale (President of the Emilia-Romagna Region), Giorgio Zanni (President of the Province of Reggio Emilia), Daniele Finucci (Mayor of Gattatico), Alessandro Spanò (Mayor of Campegine), along with Gad Lerner, Walter Massa (Arci Nazionale), Gulala Salih (Kurdish activist), partisan Dante Corti nicknamed "Notte", Anna Cocchi (ANPI Bologna), and Enza Rando.
Highlights April 25th at Casa Cervi 2026
Prices April 25th at Casa Cervi 2026
Practical information — April 25th at Casa Cervi
Where
Casa Cervi - Museo Cervi, Via Fratelli Cervi 9, Praticello di Gattatico hamlet (Reggio Emilia).
How to get there
By car: from the A1 motorway, exit Terre di Canossa-Campegine, a few minutes from Casa Cervi. By train: Reggio Emilia station, then continue by car or shuttle. On festival days, free parking is available with shuttle buses every 15 minutes from 10 am to 9 pm.
Admission and Hours
Admission by free donation. The event runs from 10 am to 8 pm (the event takes place rain or shine). The Cervi Museum is open for free during the event.
Services
Food stalls with Emilian traditional dishes, vegetarian, vegan options, and space for celiacs. Live streaming of the central part of the day on the Alcide Cervi Institute website.
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Where does it take place — April 25th at Casa Cervi
Casa Cervi - Museo Cervi
Via Fratelli Cervi 9, 42043 Gattatico