Lunga Notte delle Chiese

The churches that stay open at night

There is one evening in June when churches do not close at sunset. It is the Lunga Notte delle Chiese (Long Night of the Churches), the national initiative that opens places of worship until late and presents them as spaces for art, music, and spirituality, accessible to believers and the curious. In Lodi, the event is promoted by the Diocese and is part of the city's diocesan calendar.

The heart in San Francesco

For years, the center of the Lodi Long Night has been the Church of San Francesco, in Piazza Ospitale, one of the most important buildings in the city's artistic heritage. Here, the evening alternates moments of discovery and listening: guided tours of the church, in collaboration with the FAI (Italian Environment Fund), and sacred music concerts that fill the naves with sound. In the 2025 edition, for example, the Intende Voci Chorus conducted by Maestro Mirko Guadagnini performed the concert "Dona nobis pacem," with music by Bach and Dvořák, with free admission.

A journey of beauty

The formula of the Long Night is simple and powerful: no tickets, no restrictions, just an invitation to enter and be surprised by the art and music in the places of worship. In Lodi, alongside San Francesco, other churches in the city center may be involved, in a route that enhances the rich religious heritage of the Lodi capital.

A national event in Lodi

The event is part of a project spread throughout Italy, but in Lodi, it takes on a special flavor, intertwining with the life of the diocesan community and the cultural vocation of the city. The 2026 edition is scheduled for Friday, June 5th, and like every year, it will offer Lodi residents and visitors the opportunity to experience the churches in a new light, that of the evening.