Restanza Festival

A festival dedicated to those who stay

The Restanza Festival in Vallecorsa takes its name from a concept dear to anthropologist Vito Teti: in a territory that primarily experiences abandonment, particularly by the youth, choosing to remain and live in small villages becomes an act of courage, almost revolutionary. The festival transforms this idea into a widespread cultural program, featuring meetings, book presentations, walks, and concerts dedicated to the memory of places and the bond with the community.

Vallecorsa, a village in the Monti Ausoni

The event takes place in Vallecorsa, a municipality in the province of Frosinone, in the heart of the Monti Ausoni, on the southern border of the Lazio region. It is a town in the Ciociaria area with a strong identity, home to Saint Maria De Mattias, founder of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, whose spiritual director was the missionary Father Giovanni Merlini. The municipal library, one of the festival's symbolic venues, is named after Merlini.

The library and renovated cultural sites

The 2025 edition opened on Sunday, September 7th, with the ribbon-cutting of the completely renovated municipal library, named after Father Giovanni Merlini as part of the PNRR project «Removing barriers in cultural sites». The new cultural hub includes reading and conference rooms, a multimedia room, the historical archive room, the renovated civic museum, the refurbished music room, and a Landscape Gallery with an immersive reality experience. The inauguration was attended by the mayor and the «G. Verdi» musical band of Vallecorsa, along with the photographic exhibition «Come eravamo bimbi belli 2.0» curated by Davide Lauretti.

The program: meetings, trekking, and concerts

For about two weeks, between the beginning and the end of September, the festival offers a calendar that weaves together words, music, and landscape:

• Meetings with authors and book presentations: the opening guest in 2025 was Luca Trapanese with «Non chiedermi chi sono»;
• Trekking and walks to discover the Monti Ausoni territory and the memory of the places;
• Concerts in the squares and spaces of the village;
• Photographic exhibitions and immersive experiences in the renovated cultural sites.

The Concert for Peace

The final and most anticipated moment of the festival is the Concert for Peace in Piazza Sant'Angelo, which in 2025 concluded the festival on Sunday, September 21st, gathering the community around a message of fraternity and hope.

A municipal project for the community

The festival is promoted by the Municipality of Vallecorsa together with the network of local associations and entities that enliven the cultural life of the town, and is part of the wider calendar of events that accompanies the Vallecorsa summer in the Lazio Region. Not to be confused with the homonymous Restanza and Tornanza Festival held in the Marche region: the one in Vallecorsa is an autonomous project, deeply rooted in its community.