Porte Aperte Festival
Literature, music, and comics in the historic courtyards of Cremona
About Porte Aperte Festival
Culture opens the city's doors
Porte Aperte Festival is the cultural event that annually transforms the courtyards of Cremona's historic palaces into meeting spaces for literature, music, and comics. The name itself evokes the idea of openness: doors opening onto the city's architectural heritage and an open dialogue between different languages, generations, and cultures.
Authors, concerts, and graphic novels
The program intertwines meetings with writers, literary readings, concert performances, and presentations of comics and graphic novels, in a curated schedule that revolves around a theme each edition. The festival pays particular attention to comics, collaborating with specialized organizations, and to singer-songwriter music, in a refined balance between word, sound, and image.
In the most beautiful places in Cremona
The events take place in rotation in some of the city's most evocative locations: the Courtyard of Palazzo Affaitati — which houses the State Library, the Civic Museum Ala Ponzone with its art gallery, and the Natural History Museum — the Courtyard of Palazzo Roncadelli-Manna, and the Cortile Federico II, the medieval heart of Cremona. This choice also makes the festival a journey of discovery of the city's historical and artistic heritage.
A festival for the community
With free admission subject to availability, Porte Aperte Festival is designed as an event for the community, capable of attracting a broad and diverse audience and becoming rooted in the cultural life of the Province of Cremona. An event that combines quality offerings with accessibility, in the spirit of participation.
Porte Aperte Festival — edition 2026
The 11th edition of Porte Aperte Festival enlivens Cremona from June 4 to 7, 2026, with artistic direction by Andrea Cisi, Mario Feraboli, Marco Turati, and Marina Volonté. The edition's theme is "Demos": collectivity, integration, citizenship, and active participation, democracy, and the meeting of different cultures.
The music section takes place at Cortile Federico II, featuring Ginevra Di Marco (a concert-performance dedicated to Luis Sepúlveda), Andrea Chimenti (former frontman of Moda, one of the founding groups of Italian rock in the eighties), and Tära, a young Italian singer-songwriter of Palestinian origin. There are three literary reading events, with Elena Radonicich and Paola Caridi among others. The comics section presents Grazia La Padula (author of the 2026 poster), Majid Bita, Igort, and Arianna Lentini (ARLEN).
Programme Porte Aperte Festival 2026
Theme: Demos (June 4-7)
Music — Cortile Federico II
- Ginevra Di Marco — concert-performance dedicated to Luis Sepúlveda
- Andrea Chimenti — former frontman of Moda
- Tära — singer-songwriter of Palestinian origin
Literature
- Three literary reading events, with Elena Radonicich and Paola Caridi
Comics
- Grazia La Padula (author of the 2026 poster)
- Majid Bita — graphic novel "The Enchanted Bus"
- Igort — "Riding with Poets"
- Arianna Lentini (ARLEN) — "A Night as a Rider"
Venues
- Courtyard of Palazzo Affaitati, Courtyard of Palazzo Roncadelli-Manna, Cortile Federico II
Full program at porteapertefestival.it.
Highlights Porte Aperte Festival 2026
Prices Porte Aperte Festival 2026
Practical information — Porte Aperte Festival
Where
The events take place in the courtyards of the historic palaces in the center of Cremona (CR): Palazzo Affaitati, Palazzo Roncadelli-Manna, Cortile Federico II.
How to get here
By train: Cremona station, a few minutes' walk from the historic center. By car: parking near the center, then reach venues on foot.
Admission
All events are free admission until capacity is reached. Full program at porteapertefestival.it.
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Where does it take place — Porte Aperte Festival
Cortili dei palazzi storici di Cremona
Via Ugolani Dati 4, 26100 Cremona