Salento Book Festival

The Salento Book Festival

The Salento Book Festival is one of Southern Italy's most beloved literary events: a traveling festival that turns the squares, gardens, castles, and seaside spots of the Lecce province into stages for literature every summer. Its spirit is captured by the motto: "The Book Celebration, the Readers' Scene." These are free, open-air evening gatherings where the public engages with writers, journalists, and personalities from the worlds of culture, music, sports, and entertainment. The event is organized by the National Book Festival Cultural Association and is conceived and directed by journalist and television author Gianpiero Pisanello, supported by co-directors Antonella Lattanzi and Massimo Bernardini.

The Collepasso Stop

In the town of Collepasso, in the province of Lecce, the festival's events take place within the charming Palazzo Baronale, one of the town's most iconic landmarks. Collepasso has become a regular stop on the circuit: its presence in the program confirms the bond between this small town and the major festival, which brings nationally renowned authors right to the local community, always with free admission.

A Festival Spanning the Salento Region

The Salento Book Festival is not tied to a single city; it is a truly widespread festival that visits dozens of towns across the Lecce province—the heart of the Salento region in Puglia—throughout the summer. This traveling format allows it to reach even the smallest centers, highlighting their historical sites and transforming reading into a collective, community experience. Guests present their latest books in direct dialogue with the audience, covering novels, non-fiction, investigative journalism, and works dedicated to the local territory.

Why Attend

• Free admission to all events;
• Open-air evening meetings during the summer season;
• Nationally renowned authors in the heart of Salento;
• The historic setting of the Palazzo Baronale in Collepasso;
• A convivial atmosphere that blends culture and social life.

For both local residents and visitors, the Collepasso stop is an opportunity to experience the readers' scene in an authentic setting, discovering new books and meeting their authors in person.