Val Nure and Chero Festival 'Splinters of History'

A festival that tells history to understand the present

The Val Nure and Chero Festival 'Splinters of History' is one of the most vibrant cultural reviews in the Piacenza Apennines. Organized by Fedro Cooperativa with the support of the Fondazione di Piacenza e Vigevano and the Emilia-Romagna Region (Department of Culture), the festival was born in 2024 with a precise idea: to bring quality culture to where people live, in the often-overlooked villages of the valley, making history a tool for aggregation and territorial development. The common thread runs through the entire review: knowing the past to avoid repeating it.

A widespread review among the villages of Val Nure

The festival is itinerant and involves nine Municipalities in the valley — including Farini, Ponte dell'Olio, Vigolzone, Bettola, Podenzano, Pontenure, and Ferriere — building a calendar that runs from June to autumn. Each event takes place in a different location: historic squares, Romanesque parish churches, castles, farmhouses, and mountain trails become the stage for meetings, concerts, and dialogues. The heart of the review consists of meetings with major Italian journalists, historians, philosophers, and writers; a satellite program of concerts, book presentations, and theatrical readings revolves around it.

Farini, heart of the upper Val Nure

The Municipality of Farini, in the province of Piacenza, is one of the mountain villages featured in the review. The central Piazza Marconi hosts evening concerts with free admission, while the hamlets of the upper valley — such as the evocative Pradovera — host musical events immersed in nature, at dawn or dusk. Farini, located in the upper Val Nure at the foot of the Apennine ridge, thus offers a combination of historical heritage, mountain landscape, and cultural offerings, confirming itself over the years as one of the festival's most beloved stops.

What to expect

• Meetings with prominent national journalists, historians, writers, and communicators
• Concerts ranging from folk to jazz, from singer-songwriter music to tributes to Italian songs
• Nature excursions with live music in the villages and hamlets
• Tastings of Piacenza Hills wines and typical Apennine products
• Guided tours of parish churches, castles, and historic sites in the valley

All events are designed to be accessible: admission is free until capacity is reached, with the exception of some special events. This formula has allowed the festival to grow edition after edition, becoming a benchmark for summer cultural programming in the province of Piacenza and the Emilia-Romagna region.