Events in Bologna

With the arrival of warm weather, the city of Bologna comes alive with many cultural events to accompany all citizens and tourists through the hot summer days.

It begins with Bologna Portici Festival that from June 4 to 9, a great urban festival in four different areas of the city, from the center of Bologna, with the large stage in Piazza Maggiore and the university area that runs from the 2 towers along Via Zamboni, to the more modern porticos of the Boat Train and those between Piazza della Pace and the Monumental Cemetery of Certosa where a dance village will be set up with proposals by Dancin’Bo and the many protagonists of Filuzzi, Bolognese-style ballroom dancing, as well as the site-specific show Nell’aria. A packed program of events including shows, concerts, meetings and guided tours will also host Tutto Esaurito the therapeutic review to fight stress with a smile at the Arena del Sole. In Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, la Musica – racconti e suoni di una città (Bologna, the Music – tales and sounds of a city) is scheduled for June 7, an evening of entertainment and storytelling to travel through the history of pop and singer-songwriter music in the city of Bologna, while on Sunday, June 9, the opening concert of the Respighi Festival is expected with Laura Marzadori, first violin of the Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and the Orchestra of the “G.B. Martini” Conservatory of Bologna conducted by Sergio Alpont.

On May 25 and 26, it is the turn of Diverdeinverde, the two-day event to discover that Bologna is a garden, now in its 10th edition. Promoted by Rusconi Ghigi Urban Innovation Foundation, an unmissable opportunity to visit the hidden and secret gardens of the historic center and beyond, and discover the city with a different perspective, enjoying surprising corners and views, made up of large tree specimens, many different species of plants and beautiful blooms at the peak of the year.

Summer squares
From June 14 to 16 comes to Piazza Maggiore the appointment with the Republic of Ideas, which ignites on the Crescentone the debate on current issues in a discussion with many personalities from the journalistic scene and the national and international cultural scene.
The Cineteca di Bologna will open the doors of the cinephile’s paradise for the XXXVIII edition of the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, scheduled from June 22 to 30: 9 days with masterpieces from the history of cinema, for an edition dedicated to the great master Pietro Germi in the 50th year since his death and the 110th anniversary of his birth.
Cinema Ritrovato will, as usual, intertwine its path with that of Sotto le stelle del cinema, the program of screenings in Piazza Maggiore, which has become an essential event of the Bolognese summer for citizens and the many tourists who flock to our city. From June 17 to Aug. 13 every evening in the company of classics and the most interesting productions of recent years, while on Aug. 14 it closes with a traditional appointment to dance the Filuzzi in the Piazza. On the other hand, to see the best of the last season (and some previews of the next one), always outdoors, there is the Puccini Arena, a place of the heart for so many people who in recent years have made it one of the most attended summer arenas in Italy.

With a successful three-year run behind it, comes the fourth edition of San Francesco Estate, the programming in Piazza San Francesco curated by Emilia Romagna Teatro ERT / Teatro Nazionale in collaboration with the Municipality of Bologna, which presents a playbill of shows with free admission by reservation during weekends, from June 21 until July 28.
It begins with La mappa del cuore di Lea Melandri by Ateliersi, inspired by the column that the journalist, among the most significant personalities of Italian feminism, kept in the 1980s for the weekly magazine Ragazza In; and continues, also on the first weekend, with Salotto Marconi – Un racconto in parole, musica e danza by Avvertenze Generali. The much-appreciated BoNoir events return, evenings dedicated to local realities such as Teatro del Pratello, Teatro del Baraccano, WeReading and NarrandoBo, along with a project for Bologna poet Patrizia Vicinelli curated by Zoopalco. There is no shortage of big names in music and theater such as Paola Turci and Gino Castaldo, Daniele Salvo, with an evening dedicated to the prematurely deceased pop star Amy Winehouse, and Campania actor Massimo Venturiello. Also confirmed from June 25 to July 11 is the program in the cloister inside the Arena del Sole Theater with performances between theater and dance, as part of the physical dramaturgy focus Carne curated by choreographer Michela Lucenti.

Lucio Dalla Square, the city’s new urban centrality inaugurated in July 2022, hosts the DiMondi festival thanks to MIC funds for live performances in the suburbs: programming that enhances community experiences and knowledge sharing, bringing more than 50 live concerts featuring world music artists. Opening night on May 17 with I Musici the lineup that marked the career of the ‘Master’ par excellence of songwriting, Francesco Guccini, and many other headliners such as Tonino Carotone on May 31, Moroccan Zar Electrick on June 14, Italian-Ethiopian Atse Tewodros Project on June 19, the overwhelming rock of Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti on June 22, Inti Illimani on July 12, the extraordinary Australian Sweethearts on July 20, India’s Gypsies of Rajastan on August 30, and Ginevra Di Marco, with Ballata per Margherita dedicated to astrophysicist Margherita Hack, on September 4. Also in September, the long-awaited Hip hop Generation kermesse that brings street dance crews to invade the regenerated spaces under the so-called Tettoia Nervi with music and entertainment.
DiMondi confirms itself as a place of meeting and sociability between generations and cultures, with several parties animated by the foreign communities living in Bologna, the screening of the most important sporting events of the summer to share the European soccer championships and the Olympics in company, the appointments of the Flea Market on the first Sunday of the month, and the periodic appointments with the vintage of Armadio Circolare, in addition to the record, comic book, figurine and wellness market exhibitions.

“Things of the Neighborhood”
Entering the many Neighborhood Houses scattered throughout the territory are many projects in the Bologna Summer playbill to meet new and diverse audiences.

Mismaonda brings Perfect Days, there goes the time: five meetings in the community spaces of the Quartieri to rediscover slowness, the rituality of gestures, taking care of people, things, plants, the common good, from July 4 to 18, with some interpreters of the cultural and entertainment scene such as Lella Costa, Franco Arminio, Arianna P. Safonov, Dario Vergassola, Pippo and Andrea Santonastaso.

In addition to historical social and entertainment proposals such as Moonlight Scipione at the Scipione dal Ferro Neighborhood House, there are many projects such as Teatrino a due pollici with 13 stops for a traveling figure theater show for families and children; Fantateatro, which brings to the Neighborhood Houses the show Oltre i Confini about community values; and the Lucchini company with the Mo soppa che spectacuel show to enhance Bolognese dialect theater.

In three “cultural squares” of the Quarters, SI gira! the itinerant cinema experience also returns, scheduled this year in Borgo Panigale-Reno, in Savena and in the new Garden of the Acer Popolarissime houses in Porto-Saragozza with a total programming of three weeks in July.
Also in the Garden of the Popolarissime, curated by General Warnings, free dance workshops will be organized for everyone on the new playground between the houses: every Wednesday, from May 22 until June 19, around 7 p.m., there will be hip hop dancing with Aka from TPO, while every Tuesday from June 4 to July 9, open tango lessons from 7 to 8 p.m. curated by Olitango and from 8 to 9:30 p.m. a small dance floor.

With the project E state alla Dozza!, Bologna city of theaters confirms for the second year a special and unique theater space in the courtyard of the D’Amato Prison that opens to the city to host four shows from June 10 to 13, curated by Teatro del Pratello and Teatro dell’Argine. For a mixed audience of inmates and outside audiences, Alessandro Bergonzoni, Oblivion, Annagaia Marchioro and Indaco Trio will take the stage for a concert dedicated to Billie Holiday and Nina Simone in collaboration with Bologna Jazz Festival.

Vista paradox is the cultural project of Archivio Zeta that this year moves to another place on the first hill, namely the spaces of the monumental wing of the Rizzoli Institute (former Olivetan convent of San Michele in Bosco) and the adjacent park. Appointments from May to September 2024, for a cultural review that aims to bring the summit of San Michele in Bosco closer to the city, in continuity with the experience of Inosservanza at Villa Aldini of the past two years. A program focused on the gaze and the word with a new staging for Thomas Mann’s traveling play The Enchanted Mountain, directed by Gianluca Guidotti and Enrica Sangiovanni, as well as theatrical actions and popular and performative events around the scientific, documentary and historical heritage of the Rizzoli Institute.

Another new project for summer 2024 is IstantaneaUrbana, contemporary music and dance performances from June to September at sunset time among Kenzo’s towers in Piazza Imbeni, promoted by the Istantanea Association.

In the First Hill, Crexida’s summer festivals return at Fienile Fluò, Teatro dei Mignoli’s Summer at 300 Steps, Echo of the First Hill at Villa Ghigi and Ekodanza’s experimental festival la Campeggia FS at Paleotto.
In the city’s urban green spaces many confirmations such as Kilowatt’s review Serre d’Estate at Giardini Margherita, Montagnola Republic and Frida in the Park, Fermento in Villa at Villa Angeletti, the traditional Feminologica review in the gardens of Villa Spada, while at Cavaticcio in addition to the historic review L’altra sponda del Cassero comes DEV Garden.
A 2024 novelty is Locomotiv’s Tropical Balera project, which this year doubles up and also comes to the Penazzi Garden, while at the Bergonzini Garden the second edition of Tutto il mondo è un incanto returns.
Also in the green spaces among the residential areas outside the historic center, the Comini Express activities are back at the Fondo Comini Park and the Pontelungo Summer Festival, from May to September in Borgo Panigale-Reno with a full schedule of events for young people, adults and families.

Curated by Laminarie, at the Pilastro will be the second edition of Ginnasio, the festival of performance art in the urban periphery in dialogue with the historic center where site-specific creations measure themselves with urban public spaces and places usually used for sports activities by temporarily distorting their intended use. At Pasolini Park, the Nexus company presents Athletes, outdoor practices and dances.

Cantieri Meticci proposes Da una riva all’altra, a review in two different areas of the city: Salus Space at Savena and Piazzetta Maccaferri at Navile for InGorki24, which also hosts the events of SeRestate 2024 curated by La Baracca Testoni ragazzi; the summer of Porta Pratello curated by Arci returns to Via Pietralata.

BolliCCCine, Circus, Clown, Community, a review for children and families will enliven Friday afternoons in Colored Square from June to September, promoting circus and theater culture with performances, workshops and laboratories thanks to the collaboration of Artelego, Circo Sotto Sopra, Compagnia LegÀmi, Piccola Compagnia Sottosopra, Dadamà and Mattei Martelli. Also confirmed within the review is the 5th edition of the Fuori dagli Sche(r)mi festival. Artistic proposals continue for John XXIII Square in the Barca area with People! Also this year Caracò in collaboration with Sayonara Film, Hayat and Salto will curate a bill of events of cinema, theater, literature and live painting at the Boat Train.

From May 20 until September 27 (with a break in August), Parks in Motion is confirmed, the project of motor activities in ten urban green spaces in the Quarters, aimed at citizens of all ages and athletic backgrounds to encourage healthy lifestyles in contact with nature: from pilates to tango, Nordic walking to capoeira, martial arts to yoga.

A summer of music
At Caserme Rosse Park, a packed program with many top names in the music scene including Kid Yugi and Massimo Pericolo for Oltre Festival, Salmo + Noyz Narcos, Cat Power, Take That, Mogwai, Mahmood, Nick Mason, Kool and the Gang for Sequoie Music Park, Willie Peyote, Yngwie Malmsteen, Dogstar (with Keanu Reeves), Cosmo for Bonsai.
Botanique hosts Arab Strap, Tangerine Dream, Cranes, King Hanna, among others.
Express Festival, between Locomotiv and Teatro Duse offers I Hate My Village, Alfa Mist, Irreversible Entanglements, among others.
Dumbo Summertime, the usual continuous festival that animates the former Ravone stopover, hosts the Gemini festival in May with Acid Arab, Christian Löffler, Dirty Channels, while Brusco and Ghemon are expected at Montagnola Republic, and Mick Harvey with string quartet at Frida in the Park.

Until the end of May don’t miss the contemporary music events of AngelicA International Music Festival. Via Mascarella sees the confirmation throughout the summer of Il Salotto del Jazz with Black Ball Boogie, Doctor Dixie Jazz Band, Lisa Manara, Daniele and Elena Giardina with “Morricone and the Others.”
Back in August is Sun Donato, the festival at Parker Lennon Park with live concerts, varied in genre and styles, including Sick Tamburo, Flaminio Maphia, Eugenio Bennato, Selton, Rumba De Bodas, among others. There is no shortage of appointments with La strada del Jazz in September and the historic summer blues festival Bolognese Blues a Balues.

In the courtyard of the Archiginnasio, in the cloister of the Basilica of Santo Stefano, at the Collegio di Spagna and at the Conservatorio G.B. Martini, from June 3 to July 8, the traditional appointment with the concerts of Pianofortissimo&Talenti review of music under the stars curated by Inedita per la Cultura in collaboration with Bologna Festival crosses the city.

The confirmations of Bologna Estate 2024
Biografilm Festival, from June 7 to 17 for its 20th edition, is the event dedicated to premiere quality cinema: biographies and life stories in documentaries and fiction films that stimulate reflection on contemporary societies, in 11 days of debates, screenings and meetings.

At Theaters of Life, a summer of five festivals. It begins with Hypothesis of Peace (May 17/31): theater about Gaza and cinema with docufilms from Internazionale, including 20 days in Mariupol (Oscar-winning, Pulitzer Prize-winning). The first week of June, June 2 to 9, Spring resiDANZE: dance, circus, performing arts and art residencies, including works by Nicola Galli, Masque and Marco Chenevier, with opening on June 2 for Republic Day and a tribute to Giacomo Matteotti. From June 18 to 28, Hypothesis of Love: LGBTQ+-themed theater, film and photography on the occasion of Pride, with a preview of Michele Di Giacomo’s new show. From July 1 to 7, the international festival returns with Heart of Poland, to investigate in the contemporary artistic expressions of a border country facing the border of war: dance and theater in national premiere, cinema with a non-stop day dedicated to Polish animation, music, photography and meetings. Finally, Aug. 12 to 15, Lighthearted: four days of stand-up comedy, with the final of the third edition of the national competition for comedians “La Cicala d’Oro” and the Ferragosto lunch with Popular Kitchens.

The event Around the Museum promoted by the Association of Relatives of the Victims of the Massacre is back. From June 27 to August 10, the event will take place at the Parco della Zucca in Bologna, where the Ustica Memorial Museum is located, with music, theater, dance and performances to keep alive the memory of one of the darkest pages of national history. Guests include Concita De Gregorio, Erica Mou, Stefano Massini, Virgilio Sieni and David Riondino.

The well-established musical event Atti sonori in the spaces of Teatro del Baraccano curated by Perséphone from Aug. 24 to Sept. 1 is enriched by (M)atti sonori a series of “impossible interviews” to complement the traditional concerts that will be anticipated and introduced by an imaginary dialogue between journalist and author Emilio Marrese and historical figures from which the subsequent concerts are inspired: Marconi, Kafka, Conrad, Puccini, Bukowski and Bartali.

Bernstein School of Musical Teather celebrates its 30th anniversary on June 15 at the Duse Theater as a preview of the traditional A Summer Musical Festival. Celebrazioni Theater hosts the usual Celebrazioni in Danza series. The Teatro degli Angeli presents in Savena the review of theater, dance, poetry and music dedicated to Bologna, featuring characters, facts and stories that make our city and its culture unique.

Among the many summer confirmations are the return of the calendar of activities at the Baraccano Gardens, the Cultura da spiaggia festival at Ghisello, the Estate del Guasto, the Notti Orfeoniche and the Zucchelli Foundation’s programming in the courtyards of the historic center, while outside the city walls the LIBeRI festivals at Villa Pallavicini and the commedia dell’arte of the Fraternal Compagnia at the Cava delle Arti are back.

Starting May 24 between Bologna, Casalecchio and Valsamoggia, the Performazioni Festival by Instabili Vaganti kicks off with performances and meetings. With June previews and July events, Zed Festival’s video dance returns. The CUBO Live festival enlivens the raised gardens of Porta Europa with concerts and performances, while the Fondazione Lercaro reopens its beautiful terrace for summer events.

Malandrino and Veronica bring their summer tales to the university area at Palazzo Poggi; talks and performances are at home in the Lyda Borrelli garden with programming by Orno Teatro.
Popular culture is always present in Bologna Estate with the show in the Cortile d’onore of Palazzo d’Accursio curated by Riccardo’s Puppets and the tour in civic libraries of Apriamo baracca e burattini curated by Vittorio Zanella.

September confirms itself as the month of major festivals when site-specific performances and shows by Urban Dance, Scenario and PerAspera along with the exhibitions of PhMuseum Days – International Festival of Photography, will be followed by Franciscan Festival meetings and events around the city.

Reading and libraries
In June, Bibliomuse starts. From Libraries to Museums, a new series of appointments in municipal libraries to learn about the permanent collections and exhibition activities of the Civic Museums of Bologna, to build together new visiting routes and explore the resources in the library.
In the spaces of the Archiginnasio Library until July 6, the exhibition L’avventura disegnata. Journeys, vicissitudes and sensational tales in children’s book illustrations: 1900-1950, while the historic courtyard will open to performances of The Enchantment of Dance in September.
In Salaborsa, the Covered Square will be the heart of numerous activities, including Tratti d’arte. Artist Showcases, meetings organized in collaboration with the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna in which-every Tuesday from May 14 to June 25, with resumption on Sept. 17-you will be able to observe live and close-up artists engaged in the process of creating work.
Public reading libraries located throughout the city’s neighborhoods offer numerous opportunities to meet, particularly for girls and boys, with outdoor festivals dedicated to puppetry and theater.
Reading takes center stage in the city even in summer: book presentations, meetings with writers, read alouds, reading groups, reading marathons and many other opportunities for young and old are promoted as part of the Bologna Reading Pact.

Bologna City Museums
Continuing until June 11 at the Museo Civico Medievale is the first thematic lecture series of the project Operazione Garisenda. Stories Told, Dreamed, Lived for the dissemination and in-depth study of the city’s symbolic monument, together with the Asinelli Tower, on the occasion of the construction site for its securing; also scheduled are free workshops for children, every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
There is time until June 30 to visit the widespread project Painting in Bologna in the Long Nineteenth Century | 1796 -1915, which, among the 18 total venues, involves the Collezioni Comunali d’Arte, the Museo Civico d’Arte Industriale and Galleria Davia Bargellini and the Museo civico del Risorgimento.
At the Civic Archaeological Museum, the focus The Medagliere is Revealed. Le due torri nelle medaglie e nelle monete del Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna while the Sala Mostre hosts the Bologna leg of the multimedia exhibition I luoghi e le parole di Enrico Berlinguer (June 12-Aug. 25), already presented in Rome and here enriched by two new sections.
The MAMbo promotes, in the Sala delle Ciminiere, P E R S O [A] N O M A L I A the first solo exhibition in Italy by Polish artist Robert Kusmirowski (June 21-September 29) and, in the Project Room, the exhibition focus A Polyvalent Research. Experiences from the Video Art Center of Ferrara (June 27-October 13). Also remaining on view until July 13 is the project FRONTIER 40 Italian Style Writing1984-2024.
At the Morandi Museum the photography project Mary Ellen Bartley: Morandi’s Books is on view until July 7. In the Lapidarium of the Museo Civico Medievale is the dossier exhibition Knowledge and Freedom. Islamic Art at the Museo Civico Medievale di Bologna, while in the Sala Urbana of the Collezioni Comunali d’Arte you can visit the exhibition focus Ludovico and Annibale Carracci. Ancient Stories for Two Bolognese Fireplaces in the Michelangelo Poletti Collection (May 18-Sept. 22) and at the Museo Civico d’Arte Industriale and Galleria Davia Bargellini is Mrs. Thomas Gainsborough visiting Bologna from UNICEF’s Rau Collection (June 29-October 6). The International Museum and Library of Music celebrates the 20th anniversary of its opening with the exhibition Wandrè The Guitar of the Future (through Sept. 8), and at the Museum of Industrial Heritage the exhibition Vespa Club Bologna: A Little Big History on Two Wheels continues through June 30.
MAMbo and Museo Morandi, together with the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, are also proposing the Tramando project: a tribute to the figure of Francesco Arcangeli, fifty years after his death, articulated in a series of activities scheduled starting in May.
Among the evening festivals, the long calendar of summer events at Certosa Cemetery (May 24-November 2) and the festival of unusual music (s)Nodes at the Museum of Music (July 23-September 10) are confirmed. Also returning to MAMbo, May 24-26, is the second edition of BOOKS – Bologna art books festival promoted by Danilo Montanari Editore with the museum.
Finally, for girls and boys aged 6 to 11, Summer at the Museum returns with the much-loved summer camps in the green setting of Villa delle Rose, this year dedicated to Italo Calvino and some of his most famous texts (June 10 to September 13).

Bologna Summer in the metropolitan area
Thanks to the novelty of the call for projects in the metropolitan area, taken care of directly by the Metropolitan City, this year the Bologna Summer program schedule aimed at residents and tourists outside the capital is particularly full-bodied and as usual includes cultural projects by operators who participated in the call and institutional proposals by municipalities and Unions, selected by the Cultural Districts together with the referents of the territorial tourism tables.

On the program, long-established reviews such as Crinali in Appennino; Sereserene, Orchestre Giovanili Senza Frontiere, Reno Road Jazz in the plains; Fantastika in Dozza and Imola in musica in the Imola area.

Among the most important projects to be announced, also recurring, to enliven the summer evenings is reconfirmed in the Apennines the unfailing appointment with Porretta Soul Festival in Alto Reno Terme and In mezzo scorre il fiume, an event involving the municipalities of Casalfiumanese, Castel Del Rio, Castel San Pietro Terme, Dozza, Fontanelice, Imola, Monterenzio, Mordano, and Ozzano dell’Emilia.

Sasso Marconi is scheduled to host the Colle Ameno Theater Days 2024 and a stage of BCN – Bologna Circus Network 2024, an event that will also touch Alto Reno Terme, Casalecchio di Reno, Castiglione dei Pepoli, Gaggio Montano, Grizzana Morandi, Lizzano in Belvedere, Marzabotto and Monzuno.
Thanks to the success of past editions, we also find Appennino in vetrina on display in Monghidoro, Castiglione de’ Pepoli and Sasso Marconi.

Not to be outdone are the reconfirmations in the plains, with Le Notti delle Sementerie 2024 – Lisistrata in Crevalcore; Discorsi e Azioni 2024 – Anteprime d’estate in Argelato, Bologna, Castel Maggiore, Galliera, Pieve di Cento, San Giorgio di Piano and a rich proposal with CulturaraEstate in Calderara di Reno.
A not-to-be-missed event for fans (and not) is the 10th Jazz Festival of the Bologna Metropolitan Area and Collateral Events scattered among Anzola dell’Emilia, Bologna and Zola Predosa.

Moving eastward, the entire Imola area will be bustling with events including RestArt Urban Festival 2024 right in Imola, a city that also hosts three concerts of the historic Emilia Romagna Festival. The project aims to give relevance to the museum spaces of the Municipality of Imola, using them not as mere containers but as an integral part of the cultural event: the beautiful House-Museum of Palazzo Tozzoni and the cloister of the San Domenico Museums.

Noteworthy among the new entries for Bologna Estate are the Entroterre Festival X Bologna Estate reviews: Terre di jazz in Ozzano dell’Emilia and Pieve di Cento; Reno Folk Festival 2024, Folk dancing as a meeting of cultures, a historic event in San Lazzaro di Savena, for the first time on the BE bill.
Finally, the metropolitan summer will be crisscrossed by the events planned in the Festival Narrativo del Paesaggio billboard and the IT.A.CÀ migrants and travelers responsible tourism festival.