Piano Lab – Play with Us

An entire city playing music

There are festivals you listen to from an armchair and festivals you experience by walking: Piano Lab – Play with Us undoubtedly belongs to the latter category. Every summer, the historic center of Ceglie Messapica, one of the most charming villages in the Province of Brindisi, turns into a giant open-air instrument. Squares, whitewashed alleys, churches, cloisters, palace courtyards, and gardens become stations where pianos take over the city's architectural space, multiplying sounds and beauty in a choral effect that involves both residents and visitors.

The "Play with Us" formula

The heart of the event is the piano marathon aptly named Play with Us: a participatory and inclusive format that breaks down the traditional barrier between stage and audience. There are no distinctions of musical genre or age: professional pianists, conservatory students, graduates, amateurs, and simple enthusiasts, both Italian and international, take turns at the keyboard. Anyone who plays the piano can book their performance and become a protagonist of the festival's highlight. In the first nine editions, over 1,270 musicians from all over Italy and several countries have taken part in the event.

From Martina Franca to Ceglie Messapica

Piano Lab was born in 2017 on the initiative of the association La Ghironda APS, based in Martina Franca (TA), which still produces and organizes the event today. After the first editions hosted in Martina Franca, since 2024 the piano festival has made the historic center of Ceglie Messapica its home, a village in the Itria Valley whose historical and architectural heritage is particularly suited to serve as a backdrop for the concerts. Among the traditional partners of the event is the FAI – National Trust for Italy, testifying to the bond between music and the enhancement of heritage sites.

A widespread and free festival

Piano Lab is designed as an event open to everyone: admission to the concerts is free, and the audience moves freely from one station to another, composing their own listening path among churches, courtyards, and squares illuminated until late at night. It is a different way of experiencing classical music and beyond, giving the city a festive soul and Puglia one of its most original musical events.