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The thousand-year-old stones of the Ionian coast that vibrate to the rhythm of great jazz, the Aragonese fortresses caressed by tango and the ancestral flavors of wheat and wine that reconnect the threads of southern memory. The Archaeological Parks of Crotone and Sibari are preparing to kick off a very high profile summer season, transforming their spaces into open-air theaters where archeology blends with art, authorial melody and food and wine excellence. It is a multi-sensory journey that starts immediately, starting from this Friday 17th July and until Sunday 19th July, when the Archaeological Park of Sibari will open its doors to host Vinitaly and the City, the exclusive wine wine festival which for three days will become the fulcrum of the wine promotion of Southern Italy.
“This complex program fully responds to the strategic guidelines outlined by the Minister of Culture, the Hon. Alessandro Giuli, giving substance to the idea of a dynamic, inclusive archaeological heritage capable of generating new opportunities for the territories – declares the Director of the Archaeological Parks of Crotone and Sibari, Filippo Demma -. We work to enhance the roots of national identity through the transformation of places of memory into pulsating centers of discussion, social enjoyment and collective growth. Excellencies agri-food and food and wine, music and historical testimonies are not distant worlds, but different expressions of the same civilization. Our sites must not be treated as immobile monuments to be contemplated from a distance, but as a current language, capable of combining the rigor of protection with the dynamism and vitality of the arts”.
Big news this weekend, in conjunction with Vinitaly and the City from 17 to 19 July, will be the opening of the long-awaited exhibition ‘Orghia. Myths, rites and mysteries’, which will be open to visitors starting from 6pm on Saturday 18 July. The initiative is part of the activities of the Olivetti Plan for Culture, desired by the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli, interpreting the vision of a heritage capable of generating development and inclusion in the peripheral areas of the country.
Curated by Director Filippo Demma, the exhibition tells the story of myths and rituals connected to the cycles of nature and the fertility of the earth. The route, which represents the development of the “Le Dee del Grano” project, curated by Demma for the National Museums of Basilicata, and completes the Mediterranean food triad after the exhibitions dedicated to wine and oil in the past two years. With a precious anthropological focus centered on materials from the RAI Archives and the historical archive of the Central Institute for Intangible Heritage of the MiC, the exhibition leads the visitor from ancient myth to the peasant rituals of Southern Italy. For the occasion, important unpublished finds from the Demetrian sanctuaries of Locri Epizefiri, Eraclea Lucana, Capo Colonna in Crotone and Sibari will be exhibited in preview.
The weekend debut, characterized by guided tastings, masterclasses and important institutional focuses curated by ISMEA on the development dynamics of the Mediterranean market, will pave the way for the great summer signature productions.
The historical musical programs of the Archaeological Parks come to life this year in close synergy and collaboration with the Peperoncino Jazz Festival 2026, whose vast regional itinerary will stop in the excellent sites of Crotone and Sibaritide with events of international importance.
The musical section will officially begin on Wednesday 22 July in the setting of Le Castella in Isola Capo Rizzuto, with the inauguration of the ‘This Must Be the Place’ event, entrusted to the guided musical tour of Toca Tango. The Calabrian duo, formed by Christian Gaudenti and Camillo Maffia, will propose a fascinating acoustic journey between the atmospheres of traditional and nuevo tango, enhanced by the use of the bandoneón and songs in the original language taken from their repertoire and from their latest recording. Immediately afterwards, from 23 to 26 July, the festival will move to the evocative Theater of the Archaeological Park of Capo Colonna in Crotone, hosting the other prominent events on the bill born from the partnership with the jazz event: the Joe Barbieri Trio with the Vulìo project, the Gianluca Guidi Quartet with a refined tribute to Frank Sinatra, the legendary rhythm of Tony Esposito with Il Viaggio di Ulisse, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Calabria directed by Maestro Filippo Arlia with special guest Dave Schroeder for an evening entirely dedicated to tango (in collaboration with the “Saverio Arlia” State Conservatory). The Crotone program will then be completed at the end of August with the intimate acoustic walks led by Sasà Calabrese in the Capo Colonna Museum.
From 1st to 10th August, the center of gravity of the great concerts will move to the Archaeological Park of Sibari for the long-awaited return of ‘#Sibarinprogress’, the event which once again sees the strategic support of the Peperoncino Jazz Festival for a world-class programme: starting on 1st August with the Calabria Philharmonic Orchestra and Dave Schroeder for the symphonic homage Morricone Pop Star, continuing with the Benito Gonzales Trio, the extraordinary appointment with the Pete Roth Trio featuring the percussion legend Bill Bruford, the Nero a Metà Experience show dedicated to the music of Pino Daniele, the piano of Raphael Gualazzi, the jazz master Enrico Rava with his The Fearless Five, the vocal geometries of Neri per Caso, the talent of Karima, the passion of Raiz with the In Montecalvario project, and the historic sound of Avion Travel. The Sibari evenings will be completed at the end of the month by the sunset routes created by Sasà Calabrese and the acoustic contaminations of SybariSona with Piero Gallina and Checco Pallone.
The food and wine spin-off ‘Vinitaly and the City – Follow Up: The grain that unites the South’ will act as an ideal counterpoint to this sound journey, a scientific and educational project which on the weekends of August will transform the Sibaritide Archaeological Park into a laboratory of show cooking, insights and dialogues on the profound meaning of the earth and the protection of southern cereal biodiversity. The initiative will compare the agricultural and culinary traditions of Calabria, Campania and Basilicata with the participation of authoritative interpreters of the art of cooking and cooking, including Daniele Campana, Bianca Mucciolo, André Salerno, Giovanna Voria, Federico Valicenti and the masters of the Osteria del Vicolo di Mormanno, supported by prestigious names in journalistic communication such as Luciano Pignataro and Rocco Catalano, in collaboration with ARSAC and Calabria region.
All the operational details, the methods of participation and the complete calendars of the individual events can be consulted on the digital channels and on the institutional portal of the Archaeological Parks of Crotone and Sibari.