Where the River Flows

A festival that follows the river's course

"Where the River Flows" is an itinerant and free event that creates a close dialogue between music, art, and nature along the valleys of the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines. Conceived and directed by musician Luisa Cottifogli, the festival is organized by the association Fra Musica e Natura (Between Music and Nature) and spans eleven municipalities in Emilia, Romagna, and Tuscany, ideally following the course of the Santerno, Senio, and Sillaro rivers. Among the participating locations, Fontanelice (Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna) is one of the pulsating hearts of the event.

Fontanelice and the Santerno take center stage

In Fontanelice, a small municipality in the Santerno valley, the festival chooses unusual and evocative locations: the riverbanks near Baia del Sole, the alpaca farm Giofri in Villa San Giovanni, Monte Querzola, and the paths leading up to the Church of the Serra. Here, music is not listened to in a concert hall, but outdoors, at dawn or dusk, immersed in the landscape. This is the distinctive feature of an event that aims to "return music to nature, bringing it back to its origins".

Four souls, one spirit

The program is divided into several sections that traverse the valley's municipalities: musical awakenings at dawn, with yoga, harp, and violin; meditative concerts where music embraces nature in extraordinary locations; events in local churches dedicated to the theme of care; and journeys into 20th-century memory. Each stop is designed for a specific and unrepeatable place, often reachable only on foot through short excursions.

Free, accessible, supportive

All events are free admission with voluntary and solidarity donations, a deliberate choice to break down economic and cultural barriers and make culture truly accessible to everyone. The festival, now in its seventh edition in 2026, has progressively established itself as one of the most original cultural events of the summer in the Imola area and the entire Santerno valley.

A slow experience

Participating in "Where the River Flows" means slowing down: waking up at dawn, walking along the river, listening to a harp among the trees, and often ending with a rustic breakfast at local farms. It is slow and cultural tourism, a way to discover a little-known corner of Emilia-Romagna between Imola and the Apennines, where the border with Tuscany becomes thin and the landscape becomes part of the spectacle.