Naturalmente Pianoforte

A widespread festival in the heart of the Casentino

Naturalmente Pianoforte is one of the most original music festivals in Tuscany: it does not take place in a single concert hall but spreads across the entire Casentino valley, in the province of Arezzo, involving ten municipalities, fifty locations, and hundreds of volunteers. Each year, the event attracts over 130 pianists for approximately 240 hours of music, held in squares, churches, castles, parish churches, and along the trails of the Casentino Forests National Park. The Municipality of Pratovecchio Stia is its hub: here, pianos are placed throughout the streets and squares of the historic center, turning the village into a vast open-air stage.

The 2026 edition: "No Genre Boundaries"

For 2026, the festival takes place from July 11th to 19th with the theme "No Genre Boundaries": a program that transcends barriers between musical genres and opens up to theater, literature, photography, contemporary art, trekking, and food culture. The event, organized by PratoveteriAps, confirms its participatory formula, with most appointments offering free admission.

Pianos in the squares of Pratovecchio

The beating heart of Pratovecchio Stia pulses from July 16th to 19th: five pianos are set up throughout the streets and squares of the historic center, where twenty-four selected pianists take turns in half-hour sets from 6:00 PM until midnight, spanning jazz, pop, rock, and classical music. During the same days, the "Naturally Jazz, Pop..." masterclass takes place, led by maestro Massimiliano Calderai and dedicated to the languages of jazz and pop, composition, and improvisation.

Words and great guests

The 2026 edition features the "Encounters - Words" section, under the artistic direction of Andrea Scanzi, which brings well-known names from journalism, culture, and entertainment to the Casentino, including Nicola Gratteri, Anna Foglietta, and Giovanna Botteri. On the musical front, highlights include the opening by singer-songwriter Renzo Rubino, pianist Olga Moniakh with the OIDA Orchestra of Arezzo performing Beethoven, and the soul-jazz voices of Sarah Jane Morris and Simona Molinari. In Pratovecchio, at Piazza Jacopo Landino, the show by Elio, "The Revaluation of Sadness," is expected on July 18th at 9:30 PM, accompanied by pianist Alberto Tafuri. The festival closes on July 19th with the evocative sunrise concert by Gloria Campaner and Paolo Ruffini at the Pieve di Romena.

Why it is worth visiting

Naturalmente Pianoforte is much more than a series of concerts: it is a way to discover Pratovecchio Stia and the Casentino through music, listening to the piano resonate in places steeped in history and nature. For the visitor, it is the perfect opportunity to combine slow tourism, landscape, and culture in one of the most fascinating valleys in Tuscany, where great music meets the authentic hospitality of an Apennine village.