Troia Teatro Festival

The Troia Teatro Festival

The Troia Teatro Festival is a showcase dedicated to contemporary theatre and performing arts that enlivens the Town of Troia every summer—a charming village in the Monti Dauni area of the Foggia province, in Apulia. For one week, the historic centre turns into a vast, open-air stage: churches, cloisters, courtyards, Largo Cattedrale, and the town squares host shows, performances, workshops, and meetings, restoring a cultural and communal purpose to these urban spaces.

A stage spread across Troia and the Monti Dauni

The festival's format is rooted in community theatre: performances are not confined to a single venue but create a trail through the city's historic fabric. The audience moves from one location to another, discovering hidden corners and monuments of the Daunian village, starting with the famous Romanesque Cathedral and its rose window. The programme weaves together contemporary theatre, dance, street art, itinerant music, storytelling, and site-specific performances, with a special focus on artistic workshops for children, teenagers, and young people under 25.

The 'hat philosophy'

One of the festival's hallmarks is the so-called hat philosophy: shows are free to attend, and the audience is invited to support the artists with a spontaneous donation at the end of the performance. This choice makes culture accessible and inclusive, placing the direct relationship between artists and spectators and the civic dimension of participation at the heart of the event.

The organisers

The festival is conceived and organised by the Teatri 35 Cultural Association together with the Unione Giovanile Troiana, in collaboration with the Municipality of Troia and with the support of the Apulia Region, which has funded the festival as part of a three-year project. The artistic direction is curated by Francesco Ottavio De Santis, Leonardo Maddalena, and Antonella Parrella. Over time, the festival has established itself as one of the highlights of the cultural summer in the Capitanata region, attracting companies and artists from all over Italy and abroad.

The festival and the Troian Summer

The Troia Teatro Festival is part of the broader Troian Summer programme, which offers dozens of events from July to September, including music, folk traditions, food and wine, and culture, such as the Wheat Festival, the Wine Festival linked to the Uva di Troia grape, and historical re-enactments. Within this calendar, Troia Teatro represents the segment dedicated to theatrical research and contemporary live arts.