Popular Music Festival

Popular Music Festival 2025

From September 12 to 14, 2025, Otranto hosted the 43rd National Gathering of Folk Groups of the Italian Federation of Popular Traditions on the Lungomare degli Eroi, titled "Italy and Regions", promoted in collaboration with the Municipality of Otranto and the Pro Loco Idruntina.

The program intertwined performance and tradition: on Friday, September 12, from 6 PM, the Cuochi in Piazza gastronomic competition compared traditional dishes from Italian communities; on Saturday the 13th, guided tours and a workshop on Salento folk music led by I Tamburellisti di Otranto took place, followed in the evening by the city parade. On Sunday the 14th, the grand costumed parade, Holy Mass in the Cathedral, and the concluding Parade of Joy were held. Throughout the event, an exhibition on traditional clothing was set up in the spaces of the former Capuchin Convent.

2025 Program

• September 1-14 — Exhibition of traditional clothing at the former Capuchin Convent
• Friday, September 12, 6 PM — "Cuochi in Piazza", gastronomic competition of traditional regional dishes and folk performances
• Saturday, September 13 — Guided tours in the morning; workshop on Salento folk music with I Tamburellisti di Otranto; 7 PM city parade and performances
• Sunday, September 14 — 9 AM parade in traditional costumes; 11 AM Holy Mass in the Cathedral; 12:30 PM Parade of Joy