Medieval Cities Festival

The Middle Ages recounted in L'Aquila

The Medieval Cities Festival is one of the most popular cultural events in the Abruzzo regional capital, an appointment that every summer transforms L'Aquila into a great laboratory of historical dissemination. Born in 2023, the Festival is promoted and organized by the University of L'Aquila and the Municipality of L'Aquila, under the curatorship of professors Amedeo Feniello and Alfonso Forgione of the university's Department of Human Sciences.

A different theme every year

The Festival's formula is as simple as it is effective: each edition chooses a major theme and explores it through the lens of the Middle Ages, highlighting its connections to the present. Early editions addressed rebirth and water, while the 2025 edition was dedicated to food and the relationship between medieval cities and food resources. The common thread is always the desire to make historical research accessible, bringing the general public closer to historical themes with scientific rigor and clear language.

Meetings, lectures, dialogues, and performances

The program alternates between masterclasses by historians and scholars, dialogues between guests, book presentations, and performance moments. Alongside specialists in medieval history, essayists, journalists, and artists find space in a program that combines academic rigor with storytelling skills. Over the years, the Festival has hosted figures such as Franco Cardini, Anna Foa, Duccio Balestracci, Alessandro Vanoli, Marina Montesano, and Dario Fabbri, as well as cultural and entertainment personalities like Lella Costa, Oscar Farinetti, Paolo Mieli, and Mario Tozzi.

The heart of the Festival: Parco del Castello

The Festival days take place at the Parco del Castello in L'Aquila, specifically at the Auditorium del Parco, a symbolic space of the city's rebirth after the 2009 earthquake. The setting of the Spanish fort and its park offers an evocative backdrop for an event that speaks of walls, cities, and communities: a continuous dialogue between L'Aquila's historical heritage and the great themes of European history.

An event in the heart of Abruzzo

Located in the capital of the Abruzzo region, the Medieval Cities Festival is now a reference point for history enthusiasts across Central Italy. Admission to all meetings is free, subject to availability, reflecting a public and educational vocation that has made the Festival a heritage of the city of L'Aquila and its university.