Teatro in Orto - Pietro Castelli Botanical Garden Cavea

Teatro in Orto: theatre amidst the plants of the Messina Botanical Garden

Teatro in Orto is an open-air theatre event hosted in the cavea of the Pietro Castelli Botanical Garden, the University of Messina's garden located in the heart of the city at Piazza XX Settembre, in the municipality of Messina (Province of Messina, Sicily). The garden's natural backdrop, with its historic botanical collections, transforms for one evening into an evocative open-air theatre where the spoken word engages with the greenery and the evening silence.

The 2026 edition: "Ora dimmi di te. Lettera a Matilda"

On Friday, June 12, 2026, at 8:30 PM (with the garden opening at 7:30 PM), the cavea will host the theatrical reading "Ora dimmi di te. Lettera a Matilda," an adaptation of a text by the Maestro Andrea Camilleri. The performance explores the more intimate side of the Porto Empedocle author's writing—a side where language becomes connection, memory, and confidence, far from the serial nature of television and closer to the measure of the private written word.

Directed by Luca Fiorino, who co-wrote the adaptation with Gabriella Cacia; music by Erika La Fauci, and artistic direction by Daniela Ursino.

A project with social value

On stage is the Libera Compagnia del Teatro per Sognare, formed by inmates-actors from the prisons of Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, together with young members of the "Liberi di Essere Liberi" group (students of the University of Messina). The evening is part of the prison theatre programme carried out by the Associazione D'aRteventi since 2017, a journey of reintegration and redemption through the beauty of theatre.

• When: Friday, June 12, 2026, at 8:30 PM
• Where: Cavea of the Pietro Castelli Botanical Garden, Piazza XX Settembre, Messina
• Admission: Free, subject to availability (capacity limited to 80 spectators)
• Garden evening opening: From 7:30 PM

An experience in the heart of Messina

Attending an evening of Teatro in Orto means experiencing the botanical and cultural heritage of the city of the Strait in a unique way: the science and nature of the university garden blend with the language of theatre in one of Messina's most beloved green corners. An event that combines words, music, and social commitment, to be enjoyed in the heart of the Province of Messina.