Notturni in Certosa

Five piano nights above the Gulf of Naples

Notturni in Certosa is the piano festival that lights up the Monumental Courtyard of the Certosa di San Martino during the summer of 2026. Located on the Vomero hill in the city of Naples (Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania), the festival features five recitals held from July 9 to September 25, starting at 8:30 PM. It is a deliberately intimate, limited-seating format that restores the piano to its proper setting: a quiet, evening concert experience far from the bustle of large summer stages.

A 16th-century courtyard as a concert hall

The Monumental Courtyard is one of the most evocative spaces within the Certosa: a 16th-century quadrilateral that opens onto the church's Baroque facade and offers a breathtaking view over the parapet toward Mount Vesuvius and the gulf. As daylight fades and the city lights begin to twinkle, the hill's silence and the cloister's natural acoustics do the rest. It is a rare setting: no intrusive stage design, just a piano, the performer, and an audience seated just a few meters from the keyboard.

The 2026 Program

• Thursday, July 9 — Roberto Cominati, a Neapolitan pianist with an international career, inaugurates the festival with a program featuring Bach's Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, Godowsky's Sarabande, Debussy's Pour le piano, and the piano transcription of Stravinsky's The Firebird.
• Friday, July 17 — Elia Cecino, a brilliant young performer from Treviso already awarded in competitions from Manchester to New York, presents sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, Rachmaninov's Variations on a Theme of Corelli, and works by Granados and Liszt: Italian tradition, the Russian school, and Iberian influences in a single evening.
• Thursday, September 17 — Giuseppe Andaloro, one of the most acclaimed Italian pianists of his generation, a guest of venues such as La Scala and Carnegie Hall.
• Sunday, September 20 — Sara Amoresano, a performer of the new generation and winner of national and international competitions.
• Friday, September 25 — Gile Bae, a Dutch pianist of Korean origin, closes the festival with a recital that combines interpretive rigor with oriental sensitivity.

Inside «Le voci di sopra»

The festival is organized by the Napoli Opera House association, curated by Luca De Lorenzo, and is part of Le voci di sopra: suoni e visioni dei Musei nazionali del Vomero, the summer calendar running from June 19 to October 4, 2026, which includes Castel Sant'Elmo, the Certosa di San Martino, and Villa Floridiana. It is the first initiative launched by the new autonomous institute, directed by Almerinda Padricelli, which aims to open museums in the evening with music, cinema, poetry, and performing arts, strengthening the role of cultural spaces as vibrant places for participation and dialogue.

Great names and emerging talents

The artistic vision of Notturni is clear from the lineup: pairing established voices of contemporary concert performance, active across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, with very young performers currently building their careers. For the Neapolitan audience, this means the opportunity to hear both a seasoned pianist and a rising star of the international piano scene in the same courtyard, just days apart.

An evening in Vomero

The Vomero district is easily reached by funicular and remains one of the city's most beloved panoramic spots: the climb toward Largo San Martino, with the Certosa and the nearby Castel Sant'Elmo, is worth the evening alone. Those who arrive a little early can enjoy the sunset over the gulf before the concert begins, and those who stay afterward will find one of Naples' liveliest areas for a late dinner or a gelato.

A limited-seating format

There are a maximum of two hundred seats available for each evening, and tickets cost 15 euros: the first date sold out quickly, so booking online well in advance is recommended. This choice prioritizes the quality of the listening experience over large numbers, making Notturni in Certosa one of the most refined events of the Campanian summer music scene.