Monte Pisano Art Festival — Evening in Vecchiano

A widespread festival among the villages of Monte Pisano

The Monte Pisano Art Festival is a travelling cultural festival that, for ten days in July, transforms courtyards, squares, parish churches, villas, and iconic locations across the Monte Pisano area into open-air stages. Conceived by Officina dei Transiti and the Strada dell'Olio Monti Pisani, with the support of the Fondazione Pisa, the festival involves the municipalities of Pisa, San Giuliano Terme, Calci, Vecchiano, Vicopisano, Buti, and Capannori, in the Province of Pisa, Tuscany. The artistic direction is entrusted to maestro Andrea Gottfried.

The Vecchiano evening by the sea

In Vecchiano, a municipality on the Pisan coast overlooking the Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli Park, the festival finds one of its most evocative settings: the beach of Marina di Vecchiano. Performances are held at Piazzale Montioni, just a few steps from the shore, where the audience enjoys the evenings with the sea behind them and, often, the sunset as a natural backdrop. It is one of the festival's most beloved stops, capable of combining culture with the environmental beauty of one of Tuscany's most pristine stretches of coastline.

Opera, theatre, dance, and nature

The festival stands out for the variety of its programme: ranging from opera to theatre, from classical music to contemporary dance, intertwining performing arts with the discovery of the local area, its nature, and its flavours. Each evening is designed as an emotional narrative of Monte Pisano, a way to tell the story of the territory through the beauty of the performing arts. Alongside the main shows, a Fuori Festival also takes place, featuring dinners, tastings, walks in the olive groves, and exhibitions linked to typical local products, starting with the extra virgin olive oil of the Monti Pisani.

Vecchiano and the Pisan coast

Vecchiano is a municipality in the Province of Pisa that stretches between Monte Pisano and the sea, within the Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli Regional Park. Its coastal hamlet, Marina di Vecchiano, is famous for its wild, free beach, one of the most extensive and best-preserved on the Tuscan coast. Bringing the festival to Piazzale Montioni means enhancing this unique landscape, offering the public the chance to discover, evening after evening, municipalities and places often off the beaten track of Tuscany's major tourist circuits.

How to participate

All Monte Pisano Art Festival performances, including the Marina di Vecchiano evening, require reservations. For information and to book your spot, you can write to [email protected] or consult the festival's official website, where the complete updated programme is published.