Portami Via Festival

A widespread festival dedicated to the memory of the Resistance

The Portami Via Festival is a traveling event that crosses the municipalities of the Asti Langhe and Monferrato, where the history of the Resistance has left a profound mark. Artistically directed by musician and writer Massimo Zamboni, founder of the band CCCP-Fedeli alla Linea, the festival combines music, literature, theater, and civic engagement around the symbolic sites of the partisan struggle between the Belbo and Bormida valleys.

The 2026 summer edition, titled "The Strength and the Defenseless", runs from Friday, June 26th to Sunday, June 28th, and features five stages spread across Cassinasco, Santo Stefano Belbo, Vesime, Canelli, and Bubbio, each linked to a memorial, a monument, or a Resistance museum. An autumn follow-up is also planned for November with stops in Nizza Monferrato, Alba, and Castellazzo Bormida.

The Vesime stop at the Excelsior Partisan Airport

In the municipality of Vesime, in the Province of Asti (Piedmont), the festival chooses the Excelsior Partisan Airport as its stage—the historic clandestine airfield built in 1944 by the Langhe partisans to receive Allied planes supplying the Resistance. Today, the site houses an open-air museum and is one of the most evocative places of partisan memory in lower Piedmont. Here stands the Comandante Poli Stage, dedicated to the protagonist of that extraordinary endeavor.

The program in Vesime alternates between moments of historical insight and artistic offerings: round tables and current affairs debates on the Resistance and the defense of the Constitution, literary readings, guided tours of the airfield museum, and live concerts. It is an opportunity to rediscover, amidst the gullies and vineyards of the Asti Langhe, a page of history that is often little known.

Between the Langhe, memory, and civic commitment

More than just a concert series, the Portami Via Festival is an invitation to "take root" in the territory and its history. The UNESCO-listed hills of the Langhe become the backdrop for a dialogue between generations, where the memory of the Resistance meets contemporary culture, singer-songwriter music, and reflection on current events.

• When: June 26th–28th, 2026 (Vesime stop as part of the widespread festival)
• Where: Excelsior Partisan Airport, Comandante Poli Stage, Vesime (AT)
• Admission: Free
• Artistic Direction: Massimo Zamboni
• 2026 Theme: "The Strength and the Defenseless"

An authentic and deeply rooted cultural proposal, perfect for those who want to discover the deepest soul of the Apennine Piedmont, combining hikes through the vineyards, great music, and a reflection on history that remains ever-relevant.