Long Night of the Churches in Sarteano

The Long Night of the Churches in Sarteano

The Long Night of the Churches is an evening when churches, sanctuaries, monasteries, and places of spirituality across Italy open their doors for a special event where culture, art, music, testimony, and reflection meet. In Sarteano, in the Province of Siena and the heart of Tuscany, the event takes place in the Domenico Beccafumi Art Hall, located inside the historic Church of San Martino, one of the most evocative spaces in the Sienese Val di Chiana village.

A journey through music, art, and words

The evening is designed as a single narrative thread that links different forms of expression. The audience is accompanied by the music of Ottoni per Caso, the works of painters Francesco Vellati and Franco Maifrini, and the narrating voices of Martina Belvisi and Maria Pina Ruiu. Music, painting, and storytelling dialogue with each other, transforming the sacred space into a stage capable of speaking both to believers and to those simply curious to experience the church in a new way.

The theme of the edition

The edition follows the national theme «#HOME – Francis, go and repair my house», inspired by the episode of Saint Francis of Assisi before the Crucifix of San Damiano. The invitation to «repair the house» is extended to the contemporary meaning of taking care of relationships, communities, and the places we inhabit, in dialogue with Franciscan traditions. It is a common thread that makes the evening not only a cultural event but also a moment of shared reflection.

A national event

The Long Night of the Churches was born in 2016 in the Diocese of Belluno-Feltre, inspired by the Austrian experience of the Lange Nacht der Kirchen, and over the years it has grown to involve over one hundred and fifty Italian dioceses and hundreds of churches throughout the peninsula. The Sarteano stop, conceived by Stella Severini on behalf of Intrepido Servizi, manager of cultural heritage on behalf of the Municipality, places the small Tuscan village in this great national mosaic of places that, for one night, become spaces of encounter between art and spirituality.

Why attend

• Completely free admission, open to all.
• An opportunity to discover the Church of San Martino and the Beccafumi Art Hall in an unusual setting.
• A program that combines live music, art exhibitions, and readings.
• An evening immersed in the nocturnal atmosphere of one of the most beautiful villages in the Sienese Val di Chiana.