Monday Concerts – Along the Paths of Being

A historic festival in the heart of Cilento

The Monday Concerts – Along the Paths of Being is the summer concert series of the Municipality of Pisciotta, in the province of Salerno, in the heart of the Cilento National Park. Established in 2004, it reached its 23rd edition in 2026: a rare milestone for an art music event in a small Cilento village, making it one of the longest-running and most recognizable fixtures of the Campanian cultural summer.

The formula has never changed, and it is precisely this continuity that has built a loyal audience over the years: every Monday evening, from early July to early August, at 9:30 PM, with free admission. Not just a simple summer schedule, but a listening journey that accompanies residents and vacationers through the streets and squares of the town, where the natural acoustics of urban spaces and the silence of the evening do the rest.

The 2026 program: five Mondays, three locations

The 2026 edition offered a path of great variety, from solo piano to chamber music, from jazz to brass repertoire, and even large orchestral ensembles:

• Monday, July 6 – Piazza Michelangelo Pagano, Pisciotta: piano recital by Costantino Catena, featuring music by Beethoven, Liszt, and Poulenc.
• Monday, July 13 – Piazza Michelangelo Pagano, Pisciotta: Belle Époque, Italian and Central European café concert music from the 19th and early 20th centuries, conducted by Paolo Scibilia, with music by Tosti, Lehár, Puccini, and Verdi.
• Monday, July 20 – Piazza Michelangelo Pagano, Pisciotta: Classic Tango and Jazz with Kameliya Naydena Naydenova and the Sandro Deidda Quartet, spanning Vivaldi to Piazzolla.
• Monday, July 27 – Largo Palazzo Landulfo, Rodio hamlet: Alentum Brass Quintet, with pieces by Bizet, Dukas, Mascagni, Verdi, and Puccini.
• Monday, August 3 – Piazzale Maria SS. di Portosalvo, Marina di Pisciotta: Orchestra Salerno Classica with Cilento Artists, conducted by Francesco D'Arcangelo, performing Copland's Appalachian Spring and De Falla's El Amor Brujo, with Alina Di Polito, Paolo Puglia, and Rosita Celenta.

The locations: the village, the hamlet, the marina

The heart of the festival is Piazza Michelangelo Pagano, in the historic center of Pisciotta, the town's natural living room. The program then opens up to the municipal territory with two stages that have become a tradition: the Largo di Palazzo Landulfo, in the hillside hamlet of Rodio, and the Piazzale Maria Santissima di Portosalvo in Marina di Pisciotta, where the final concert is held just a few steps from the sea. This structure distributes the festival between the high village, the hinterland, and the coast, enhancing both architectural heritage and landscape.

A recognizable artistic direction

The festival is curated by Maestro Mauro Navarra, the event's historic artistic director, and is organized by the Pisciotta municipal administration together with the musical cultural association Artisti Cilentani Associati, with the support of the Campania Region. The underlying choice is clear: to bring national and international level performers to a context where classical music does not usually arrive, while maintaining free access. Edition after edition, the public has learned to follow a schedule that alternates established names with young local instrumentalists.

A project looking beyond municipal borders

The 2026 edition also marks a shift in perspective: the project was submitted to the regional program Le Stagioni della Campania, promoted by the Tourism Department, with the goal of uniting four Cilento municipalities – Pisciotta, Ascea, Casalvelino, and Stella Cilento – in an artistic and musical program distributed throughout the year. An ambition that aims to transform a summer festival into a stable cultural hub for the entire area.

Why it's worth the trip

Attending a Monday concert in Pisciotta means listening to Beethoven or Piazzolla while sitting in a stone square, with the scent of the Mediterranean scrub and the sea just a few hundred meters away. It is an experience that combines the quality of a concert season with the simplicity of a village festival: you arrive early, find a seat, and stay to chat after the final applause. For those spending their holidays in Cilento, it is the most natural way to get in touch with the cultural life of this corner of Campania.