Teatri di Pietra Lyric Festival - Leonforte

An evening of music and identity in Leonforte

Every summer, the Teatri di Pietra Lyric Festival travels across Sicily, bringing opera and great music to the island's ancient theaters, archaeological parks, and historic squares. The festival, organized by the Coro Lirico Siciliano under the artistic direction of Francesco Costa, also stops in Leonforte, an elegant Baroque town in the province of Enna, in the heart of inland Sicily.

The Leonforte leg is part of a 2026 program featuring over forty events between July and September, ranging from the Greek Theater of Syracuse to Taormina, and from Tindari to Selinunte. It is a journey that, as Francesco Costa often says, transforms ancient stones into "living spaces, guardians of a thousand-year-old memory."

Leonforte, a Baroque setting among the Enna hills

Founded in the 17th century by Prince Nicolò Placido Branciforti, Leonforte is famous for its Gran Fonte, a monumental twenty-four-spout fountain, and its princely granary—symbols of a noble past that frames the summer cultural events. It is in this atmosphere that the festival presents its musical appointment, capable of blending the beauty of the Sicilian inland landscape with the evocative power of live music.

Stranizza d'Amuri, the singing soul of Sicily

The heart of the event is the show "Stranizza d'Amuri," performed by Rita Botto, a singer and interpreter among the most representative voices of the Sicilian vocal tradition. The show weaves together identity, territory, and singer-songwriter music in a format specifically designed to engage with its host locations: a journey of words, melodies, and roots that gives the audience a profound sense of Sicilian belonging.

A festival that is regional heritage

The Teatri di Pietra Lyric Festival has been included by the Sicilian Region in its calendar of major tourist attractions. With over 70,000 attendees in recent editions, the festival has established itself as one of the most popular cultural events of the island's summer, and the Leonforte stop represents a unique opportunity to discover music in inland villages, far from the crowded coastal destinations.