The 7th edition of the “Dei Suoni I Passi” festival, a trail of music and words along the Via degli Dei from Bologna to Castiglione dei Pepoli, Marradi, Firenzuola, Scarperia e San Piero, Fiesole, Florence.
Between Bologna and Florence lies a constellation of stops that ideally follow the 120 kilometers between the two cities, a route that can be covered in just over half an hour by high-speed train, but also on foot, along the Roman paving stones of the ancient Flaminia Militare road, through centuries-old beech and chestnut forests. A journey that offers an alternative to everyday frenzy and allows visitors to see the world from a different perspective. The 2026 intermediate stops will include Castiglione dei Pepoli, Firenzuola, Marradi, Scarperia e San Piero, and Fiesole. The initiative is aimed at walkers, cyclists, local residents, and anyone who prefers to reach the venues hosting the performances in their own way. The festival is organized by Fondazione Fabbrica Europa under the artistic direction of Maurizio Busia. The 2026 site-specific events will feature artists Mauro Ermanno Giovanardi, Monica Demuru, Peppe Voltarelli, Pierfrancesco Mucari, Vincenzo Vasi, Sebastiano De Gennaro, Naomi Berrill, Mattia Galeotti, Nazareno Caputo, Marco Dalmasso, Charles Ferris, Riccardo Onori, and Francesco Cangi.
“The project stems from a vision aimed at moving beyond the logic of major urban centers in order to discover, through an ethical and attentive approach, lesser-known ecosystems and territories. Places to be explored and involved while respecting the people who live there, making the initiative effective and generating medium- and long-term benefits for local communities,” says Maurizio Busia.
Claudia Sereni, Metropolitan Councillor for Culture, adds: “Dei Suoni i Passi is a project that over the years has succeeded in building an authentic connection between culture, landscape, and communities, enhancing the Apennines as a place of encounter and discovery. Music, walking, and performing arts invite us to look at the territory through a different lens — slower, more conscious, and more respectful — placing inland areas and their extraordinary cultural and environmental richness at the center. The initiative outlines a path that connects Bologna and Florence not only geographically, but also through relationships, experiences, and artistic languages, creating deep connections between people and places. Supporting this project means promoting a vision of culture that is widespread, accessible, and sustainable.”
The festival will open on Wednesday, June 3 at 6:00 PM at IAAD – Institute of Applied Arts and Design in Bologna with “Shut up ‘n play yer bike,” a celebration of bicycles, musical experimentation, recycling, and environmental awareness in a creative context. The electroacoustic performance will be staged by two of the most interesting musicians on the Italian scene: composer Sebastiano De Gennaro (Baustelle, Daniele Silvestri, Ludovico Einaudi, Vinicio Capossela, Dargen d’Amico, Calibro 35) and multi-instrumentalist and composer Vincenzo Vasi (Mike Patton, John Zorn, Roy Paci, Tristan Honsinger, Vinicio Capossela, Eva Kant). The bicycle becomes the protagonist from a new perspective thanks to its acoustic properties. An opportunity to promote sustainable mobility in an original way and draw attention to environmental issues. The performance will be introduced by the documentary video “Ciclofonia” by De Gennaro and Marcello Corti, dedicated to the history of the connection between bicycles and artistic performance, ranging from bicycle compositions by Frank Zappa, Mauricio Kagel, Richard Lerman, and other avant-garde artists of the past fifty years. Cycle synthesizers, polyphonic bells, sonic wheels and spokes: each bicycle with its own unique sound soul. A poor yet explosive art form, healthy madness, ingenuity, recycling, movement, space, and sound.
On Saturday, June 6 at 6:00 PM at Rifugio dell’Abetaia in Castiglione dei Pepoli, reachable on foot from the town along the trail, and in collaboration with Festival Crinali, Peppe Voltarelli will recount through songs his relationship with the two cities — Bologna and Florence — with a setlist specially conceived for the occasion. The program will include songs from his solo repertoire, pieces by Il Parto delle Nuvole Pesanti — the cult Italian folk band he founded and leads — gems by singer-songwriter Claudio Lolli, with whom he collaborated closely, and other selections from the history of Italian music.
Thanks to the collaboration between the Municipality of Marradi, Fondazione Marradi Cultura Dino Campana, and Toscana Produzione Musica, from June 10 to 13 the new production “La veglia Sibilla” will come to life. Actress and singer Monica Demuru and musician Pierfrancesco Mucari will work in some of the town’s most significant locations to evoke the complexity of the figure of Sibilla Aleramo on the 150th anniversary of her birth. The voices of Sibilla Aleramo and Dino Campana — the poet born in Marradi and deeply connected to these places — will enter into dialogue. Their intense and troubled emotional and intellectual relationship represents a highly significant chapter in Italian literary history, where life and artistic creation merge inseparably. Here, Aleramo and Campana become a cultural and narrative resource capable of activating processes of territorial knowledge through attentive, slow, and conscious forms of engagement. The stage performance will transform literary memory into a living experience capable of dialoguing with the present. Texts and sounds will resonate with the Apennine natural environment, evoking a landscape that is not merely a backdrop, but an integral part of the artistic narrative.
On Sunday, June 14 in Firenzuola, in the hamlet of Cornacchiaia, inside the magnificent Pieve di San Giovanni Battista Decollato, a sunset celebration and convivial gathering will feature drummer Mattia Galeotti, active on both the Italian and international scenes, accompanied by percussionist and inventor Nazareno Caputo, creator of a unique “lithophone” percussion instrument made of stone, alongside producer Marco Dalmasso and trumpeter Charles Ferris. Together they will lead a jam session blending sounds of nature, electronics, and powerful beats. Special guests guitarist Riccardo Onori and trombonist Francesco Cangi will enrich the evening.
In the splendid Palazzo dei Vicari in Scarperia, on the occasion of the “Romantic Night of Italy’s Most Beautiful Villages,” Saturday, June 20 will feature Mauro Ermanno Giovanardi, a refined and multifaceted singer-songwriter who has been active on the Italian music scene for more than twenty years as a performer, author, producer, and artistic director. One of the creators of Italy’s underground music scene, he founded La Crus in 1993, a groundbreaking band that changed the rules of Italian alternative music. The setlist will include songs from “E poi scegliere con cura le parole,” his newly released work, along with both famous and lesser-known songs from the history of Italian songwriting.
On Sunday, June 21 between Fiesole and Florence, in the historic Villa Il Palmerino, intimate songwriting and sonic exploration will merge in the solo concert of Naomi Berrill, Irish cellist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and singer. After completing her classical studies between Scotland, Switzerland, and Italy, she developed a personal artistic path using the cello not only as a solo instrument but also as an extension of the voice. Her work combines composition, arrangement, and improvisation, moving across different musical languages. This versatility has led her to collaborate with artists from diverse backgrounds, including Danusha Waskiewicz, Giovanni Sollima, Mario Brunello, Vincent Courtois, Ernst Reijseger, and Alessandro Lanzoni.
During the days of DEI SUONI I PASSI — and specifically on June 5 in Fiesole and June 6 in Sasso Marconi — Michael Gordon’s composition “8” for eight cellos will also be presented, curated by cellist Francesco Dillon and his advanced students. The project is co-produced by Fondazione Fabbrica Europa and Fondazione Scuola di Musica di Fiesole.
Since its founding in 2018, many musicians, actors, and authors have embraced the festival’s poetic vision — including Enrico Rava, Nada, Lucio Corsi, Andrea Appino, Bobo Rondelli, Emma Nolde, Paolo Benvegnù, Vasco Brondi, Rosa Brunello, Massimo Zamboni, Elio Germano, Cristina Donà and Saverio Lanza, Dimitri Grechi Espinoza, Riccardo Tesi, Gnut, and D’Alessandro, to name just a few — sharing the idea of a different way of experiencing music and the environment.
Dei Suoni i Passi is supported by Regione Toscana and the Metropolitan City of Florence in collaboration with the Municipality of Florence, Municipality of Castiglione dei Pepoli, Municipality of Marradi, Municipality of Scarperia e San Piero, Municipality of Firenzuola, Fondazione Marradi Cultura Dino Campana, Pro Loco Scarperia, Unione dei Comuni dell’Appennino Bolognese, Festival Crinali, Toscana Produzione Musica, and IAAD.
All events are free admission while seats last, except for the June 13 event in Marradi (ticket price: €5).
Info: www.fabbricaeuropa.net
