Mont'Alfonso sotto le stelle - Fortezza delle Verrucole

A stage within the walls of a medieval fortress

The Fortezza delle Verrucole, which overlooks the village of San Romano in Garfagnana in the province of Lucca, is one of the most scenic stops on the Mont'Alfonso sotto le stelle festival circuit. Every summer, the festival—which has its main hub at the 16th-century Fortezza di Mont'Alfonso in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana—chooses this ancient fortified complex for one of its most anticipated events: an open-air evening concert framed by medieval walls and the silhouette of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines.

The festival and its spirit

Created to celebrate the historical and landscape heritage of the Garfagnana, Mont'Alfonso sotto le stelle weaves together music, theater, storytelling, and songwriting, bringing major names from the Italian scene to memory-laden locations. The festival is promoted by the Tuscany Region together with the Municipalities of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana and San Romano in Garfagnana, with the support of local park authorities. The evening at the Verrucole is designed as an experience that goes beyond the concert: arrive in the late afternoon, hike up to the fortress, and wait for the sun to set before the show begins.

The 2026 edition: Gatti Mézzi

For 2026, the event at the Fortezza delle Verrucole is set for Thursday, August 6, at 8:15 PM, featuring a concert by Gatti Mézzi, a duo from Pisa known for their sophisticated and irreverent songwriting in both dialect and Italian. Their repertoire, filled with irony, poetry, and Tuscan roots, perfectly matches the intimate and secluded atmosphere of the fortress. The evening is part of the seventh edition of the festival, scheduled from July 22 to August 24, 2026, between the two fortresses of the Garfagnana.

The Garfagnana and its fortresses

San Romano in Garfagnana and its Fortezza delle Verrucole represent one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of this valley in the upper province of Lucca, a borderland between Tuscany and Emilia, home to ancient castles and mountain landscapes protected by the Apennine and Apuan Alps parks. Attending a concert in this setting means experiencing music, nature, and heritage all at once, during one of the most characteristic cultural evenings of the Garfagnana summer.

• Municipality: San Romano in Garfagnana (Province of Lucca, Tuscany)
• Venue: Fortezza delle Verrucole
• When: Thursday, August 6, 2026, at 8:15 PM
• 2026 Headliners: Gatti Mézzi