Voci a Pitigliano
Meetings and performances to rethink tourism and the future of hospitality
About Voci a Pitigliano
A festival to rethink tourism
Voci a Pitigliano is not a typical food festival or celebration: it is a series of lecture-performances and public meetings that chooses to examine the future of tourism and hospitality with both seriousness and irony. It takes place in Pitigliano, a stunning tuff-stone village in the Maremma region of Grosseto, Tuscany, known as the "Little Jerusalem" for its historic Jewish community and its landscape carved into the volcanic rock.
The origins
The festival is the natural continuation of a self-analysis and participation process launched by the Municipality through the "Pitigliano Turismo" initiative: resident surveys, thematic working groups, and initial meetings with mayors of small Tuscan towns. The goal is to counter the effects of hit-and-run tourism and the proliferation of short-term rentals that are transforming the historic center, by imagining hospitality models that center on the happiness of residents and the cultural production of the area.
Four keywords
The program, curated by Simone Marrucci, is built around four words that emerged from interviews with the town's inhabitants:
- Listening — knowing how to tell stories and how to listen to the territory;
- Awareness — identity, authenticity, and the narrative of places;
- Happiness — community well-being as a measure of good tourism;
- Directionality — towards which model of hospitality and village development.
The guests
Between the evening sessions at the Teatro Salvini and the meetings at the Sala Ildebranda, some of the most well-known voices in Italian journalism and culture take the stage: Emilio Casalini (RAI author and host), anthropologist Duccio Canestrini, poet and landscape expert Franco Arminio with Livio Arminio, economist Stefano Bartolini, historian Alberto Grandi, geographer Rossano Pazzagli, and journalist Sarah Gainsforth, alongside local administrators and citizens.
An event for the territory
Promoted by the Municipality of Pitigliano, the event has received patronage from the Tuscany Region, Toscana Promozione Turistica, ANCI Toscana, and Unioncamere, with the support of Banca Tema. More than just a showcase, Voci a Pitigliano is a public laboratory: an opportunity for residents, operators, and visitors to imagine together a slower, fairer, and more conscious form of tourism in the villages of the Maremma.
Voci a Pitigliano — edition 2026
The 2026 edition of Voci a Pitigliano inaugurated the festival in the Maremma village in the province of Grosseto, with four weekends from March 14 to April 21. The common thread: rethinking tourism starting from the happiness of residents and the culture of the places.
Evening performances at the Teatro Salvini and Sunday morning meetings in the Sala Ildebranda alternated voices from journalism, anthropology, economics, and poetry, with the direct involvement of administrators and citizens. An edition built around four keywords — listening, awareness, happiness, directionality — that emerged from listening to the inhabitants.
Programme Voci a Pitigliano 2026
First weekend — March 14-15
- Saturday, March 14, Teatro Salvini — "Generators of Beauty", lecture-performance by Emilio Casalini (RAI author and host).
- Sunday, March 15, Sala Ildebranda (9:30 AM) — Meeting with journalists, scholars, and administrators on storytelling in territories: best practices and critical issues.
Second weekend — March 21-22
- Saturday, March 21, Teatro Salvini — "Homo turisticus", lecture-performance by anthropologist Duccio Canestrini.
- Sunday, March 22, Sala Ildebranda (9:30 AM) — Dialogues on identity, authenticity, and awareness of places.
Third weekend — April 11-12
- Saturday, April 11, Teatro Salvini — "The Italy of Villages", performance by Franco and Livio Arminio.
- Sunday, April 12, Sala Ildebranda (9:30 AM) — Meetings on happiness, community well-being, landscape, and sustainable economy.
Fourth weekend — April 18-19
- Saturday, April 18, Teatro Salvini — Lecture-performance on the essence of Tuscany with Alessandro Calonaci.
- Sunday, April 19, Sala Ildebranda (9:30 AM) — Future perspectives: domestic tourism, inland areas, and village development.
Speakers who participated in the festival included: Rossano Pazzagli, Alberto Grandi, Stefano Bartolini, and Sarah Gainsforth.
Highlights Voci a Pitigliano 2026
- "Generators of Beauty" by Emilio Casalini, inaugural performance at Teatro Salvini.
- "Homo turisticus" by anthropologist Duccio Canestrini.
- "The Italy of Villages" by Franco and Livio Arminio.
- Sunday roundtables at Sala Ildebranda with scholars and administrators.
Prices Voci a Pitigliano 2026
Practical information — Voci a Pitigliano
Where
Evening performances are held at the Teatro Salvini in the historic center of Pitigliano (GR); Sunday morning meetings and roundtables take place in the Sala Ildebranda.
Times
Saturday lecture-performances generally begin late in the evening (9:00 PM – 9:30 PM), while Sunday meetings are held in the morning (around 9:30 AM).
How to get there
Pitigliano can be reached by car via the SS74 Maremmana; the nearest train station is Albinia-Orbetello, from which you can continue by bus or car towards the hinterland. Driving from Rome or Grosseto, take the Via Aurelia and then the roads through the Area del Tufo.
Information
For the updated program and participation details, we recommend checking the website and social media channels of the Municipality of Pitigliano.
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Where does it take place — Voci a Pitigliano
Teatro Salvini e Sala Ildebranda