Sabina Jazz Festival

A festival born from a love for early jazz

The Sabina Jazz Festival was founded in 2005 by Bruno Castracucchi, a local clarinetist with a passion for classic jazz. With the support of the Associazione Culturale Bocchignano, he envisioned a festival entirely dedicated to traditional jazz: New Orleans, Dixieland, and swing—the repertoire spanning roughly from the 1920s to the 1940s. Following his passing in 2012, the festival was led by his friend and fellow musician Renato Musillo, and in recent years, artistic direction has been held by Stefano Lefèvre, who has preserved its spirit and format.

Bocchignano, the natural stage

What sets the Sabina Jazz Festival apart from many other events is its relationship with the setting. Concerts do not take place on a single large stage but are spread throughout the historic center of Bocchignano, a hamlet in the municipality of Montopoli di Sabina, in the province of Rieti, in the heart of the Lazio region. The village's small squares—Ammazzatora, Piazza D'Armi, Pollarola, and the Piazzetta—surrounded by stone buildings, act as natural acoustic chambers and are highly appreciated by musicians for their warm acoustics and direct contact with the audience.

The village itself is worth a visit: with ancient origins, Bocchignano preserves Roman, medieval, and Renaissance traces, and its compact urban layout invites visitors to walk from one small square to another, following the music.

The format: three evenings of early jazz

The program typically spans three evenings of concerts, featuring ensembles that faithfully represent early jazz. In recent years, the artistic direction has introduced some stylistic variations designed to broaden the musical offering and diversify the event's artistic content, without betraying the festival's traditional identity.

• Concerts in the historic center's squares, held in succession throughout the evening
• New Orleans, Dixieland, and swing repertoire
• Italian ensembles specializing in classic jazz
• Convivial moments with tastings and hospitality from local residents

Music, food, and Sabina hospitality

During the festival evenings, the inhabitants of Bocchignano open their cellars, courtyards, and refreshment points: you can dine or enjoy a snack with products from Sabina, a land famous above all for its PDO extra virgin olive oil, as well as local cured meats, cheeses, and wines. The combination of live music and local cuisine is an integral part of the experience and explains the loyalty of the audience, who return every year from Rome, Rieti, and the rest of the Lazio region.

When to go and what to see nearby

The event traditionally takes place between the end of May and the beginning of June, when the Sabina hills are at their most beautiful. Visitors can combine the festival with a trip to Montopoli di Sabina and its historic center, the Abbey of Farfa a few kilometers away—one of the most important monastic complexes in central Italy—and the centuries-old olive groves that define the landscape between the Tiber and the Sabina mountains.

A musical heritage to preserve

In a landscape where Italian jazz festivals predominantly look toward contemporary forms, the Sabina Jazz Festival occupies a precious niche: that of preserving and promoting early jazz. It is a human-scale event, free in the communal spirit that animates it, built by the volunteer work of a village association and a community that has been welcoming musicians and listeners for twenty years.