Start of Summer

An evening to kick off the Priverno summer

Start of Summer is the festival with which the Youth Aggregation Center (CAG) of the Municipality of Priverno symbolically marks the beginning of the summer season. The event takes place at Piazzale XX Settembre, the space in front of the historic Porta Romana, one of the most popular spots in the center of Priverno, in the province of Latina, in the heart of southern Lazio. For one whole evening, the square turns into a large open-air stage, with live music as the common thread, framed by stands, markets, and street performances.

The Priverno CAG, the engine of the initiative

The Youth Aggregation Center is one of the most recent commitments of the Municipality of Priverno to the new generations: created thanks to a total investment of approximately 140,000 euros between regional contributions and municipal co-financing, it occupies three levels of the House of Associations and is managed by the Associazione Tratto Libero APS. It caters to teenagers and young adults aged 14 to 35, offering creative workshops, cultural and social animation activities, and co-design paths where the young people themselves build the calendar. Start of Summer was born precisely from this working method and is carried out in collaboration with the Associazione Priverno Innova.

Live music and local talent

The heart of the evening is the stage. It begins with the performance of the students of the CAG singing course, led by teacher Amanda Iannotta: it is the most anticipated moment for families, as it brings the young people who trained right inside the Center onto the stage. It continues with emerging bands from the area, who take over the central part of the evening, leading up to the closing concert that accompanies the square late into the night. The choice to give space to local groups is not accidental: promoting youth activism and local talent is one of the stated goals of the initiative.

Not just the stage: markets and street art

As the music plays, the square fills with exhibition stands, craft markets, and street performer acts. It is a formula that extends the festival beyond the concert audience and creates what the organizers define as a widespread and inclusive atmosphere: you can listen to a set, stop in front of a craft stall, follow a juggler, and then head back under the stage. The result is an evening where teenagers, families, and residents of all ages coexist.

• Free admission, no booking required
• Live music with emerging bands from the Pontine area
• Performance by students of the CAG singing course
• Craft markets and exhibition stands
• Street performer shows along the square

Priverno, between the Lepini Mountains and the Pontine plain

Hosting the festival at Porta Romana means placing it at the transition point between the historic village and the modern city. Priverno is one of the most characteristic centers of the Lepini Mountains: it preserves a medieval historic center gathered around Piazza Giovanni XXIII, with the Cathedral of Santa Maria Annunziata and the Town Hall, and is known throughout the province for its gastronomic tradition, starting with the famous falia with broccoli rabe. A few kilometers away lie the Fossanova Abbey, a jewel of Cistercian architecture in Italy, and the Privernum Archaeological Museum. Those arriving from outside for Start of Summer will therefore find, a short distance away, one of the most interesting cultural routes in southern Lazio.

Why it's worth being there

Start of Summer is not a massive festival with thousands of spectators: it is a community festival, built from the ground up, that tells the story of how a small town in Lazio can invest in its young people and get back an evening capable of filling the square. For those visiting the area in June, it is the easiest opportunity to see Priverno live, without a ticket and without tourist filters.