The Todi Festival

An open-air theatre in the heart of Umbria.

2 minutes

The arts and the village, an inseparable union

Between late August and early September, the streets and squares of Todi fill with people and excitement: citizens, tourists, artists... Some curious, some impatient, some thrilled by the upcoming shows, but all inevitably caught up in the many emotions of the Todi Festival.

Conceived by Silvano Spada in 1987, the Todi Festival represents one of Italy's largest cultural events that combines theatre, dance, music, visual arts and literature. Over the years, the event has grown bigger and bigger with new spaces, new sections, new ideas, marked by a tendency to go outside the box, with an eye to the past and a focus on experimentation, especially in the field of Italian drama. It is a very lively and dynamic reality, which has acted as a jumping board for many young performers, authors and directors. The Todi Festival is a synonym for contamination of genres, classic plays next to modern ones, works written by both Italian and international authors.

The Festival does not take place behind closed doors or in some avant-garde theatre, but right on the streets of Todi, under the open sky, or inside churches and palaces symbolic of the village's history, which makes the event even more remarkable. This is precisely how the festival has entered deeply into the life of the village, weaving itself right into its social fabric. The beautiful squares and corners of the old town make the perfect setting for such a festival: Piazza del Popolo, the heart of Todi, the steps of the San Fortunato's Church, and some unusual and evocative locations on the immediate outskirts of the village, with the clear intention of increasing the knowledge of the area. But the most prestigious location is the beautiful municipal theatre designed by Carlo Gatteschi, with its decorated interiors and its unique curtain depicting Ludovico Ariosto's arrival in Todi.

And if all this still wasn't enough, the Todi Festival offers a range of collateral events: the «Todi Off» show, a number of workshops related to dancing and acting, the «Teatro e Critica Lab», and other proposals for those coming from out of town: guided tours, food and wine tastings, exceptional openings of museums, libraries, churches, stores and historical buildings.

Innovation, research, and cross-cultural contaminations are the ingredients of the Todi Festival. Every year the entire village is ready to welcome incessant ferment and vital energy, in the joy of sharing them with anyone who comes to its doors.

Credit to: Materni