Ursino Buskers – International Street Arts Festival

A street arts festival in the ancient heart of Catania

Ursino Buskers is the international street arts festival that, every September, takes over the squares and alleys surrounding the Castello Ursino in the San Cristoforo district of Catania, Sicily. For a few days, the historic city center becomes a vast open-air stage where circus performers, jugglers, tightrope walkers, musicians, actors, clowns, and street artists from across Italy and beyond perform among the public, in the most authentic busker tradition.

From the birth of Gammazita to today

The festival was born in 2014 through the efforts of the Gammazita Cultural Association, founded the previous year by a group of young people from Catania around Piazza Federico di Svevia, with the goal of restoring life and dignity to the historic Castello Ursino district. Since its first edition, which drew thousands of spectators, Ursino Buskers has established itself as a social festival: conceived, organized, and supported from the ground up thanks to the volunteer work of hundreds of people who believe in street arts as a tool for community building and urban transformation.

Shows, thematic areas, and activities

The program features numerous thematic performance areas spread across the district's squares, courtyards, and streets, with dozens of free shows every day. Alongside contemporary circus and street theater, the festival offers:

• shows and parades with Italian and international companies;
• Ursino Kids, featuring readings and activities dedicated to children;
• creative and manual workshops for children and adults;
• talks, debates, and exhibitions on themes of urban culture and community;
• street market and street food areas.

The event traditionally kicks off with a grand inaugural parade through the city, accompanied by the Sambazita percussion orchestra, followed by the Opening Party that officially launches the festival days.

An open-air community project

More than just a festival, Ursino Buskers is an urban regeneration laboratory: over more than ten editions, the Castello Ursino district has grown alongside the festival, becoming a place of inclusion, participation, and social cooperation. All shows are free, with the customary voluntary "hat" contribution left for the artists. It is an unmissable event for those who want to discover Catania through its popular, creative, and welcoming soul.