# Festival di Musica Antica di Gratteri > Festival di Musica Antica di Gratteri: in late August, baroque concerts by Italian and international musicians, in a church and a square, with free entry. - Page: https://www.lemadonie.it/en/events/gratteri-early-music-festival/ - Updated: 2026-10-19 - Other languages: [Italiano](https://www.lemadonie.it/eventi/festival-di-musica-antica-gratteri.md) · [Español](https://www.lemadonie.it/es/eventos/festival-di-musica-antica-di-gratteri.md) · [Français](https://www.lemadonie.it/fr/evenements/festival-de-musique-ancienne-gratteri.md) · [Deutsch](https://www.lemadonie.it/de/veranstaltungen/festival-di-musica-antica-gratteri.md) ## At a glance | | | |---|---| | 2026 edition | 25 – 30 August 2026 | | Where | Church of Santa Maria di Gesù and Piazza Monumento, [Gratteri](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/gratteri/) | | Category | Music | | Recurrence | Every year, last week of August, three or four evenings | | Organiser | Associazione MusicaMente, direzione artistica di Paolo Rigano | | Price | Free entry | | Source | https://cefalunews.org/2026/08/27/il-festival-di-musica-antica-di-gratteri-compie-ventanni-dal-25-al-30-agosto-2026-musicisti-internazionali-e-una-conferenza/ (checked on 2026-10-19) | ## Programme 20th edition: three concerts and a talk at 21:15, free entry. 25 August Arianna Art Ensemble and Martina Licari (Vivaldi and Händel), 28 August guitarist Tiago Matias, 29 August talk on the festival's twenty years, 30 August closing with the Michele Liso Trio. Every late August the Festival di Musica Antica di Gratteri brings baroque and early music to a village in the hills above Cefalù. The concerts, by Italian and international musicians on period instruments, are held in the church of Santa Maria di Gesù and in Piazza Monumento, at 21:15, with free entry. In 2026 the twentieth edition ran from 25 to 30 August. It is organised by the MusicaMente association with the Comune di [Gratteri](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/gratteri/) and support from the Ministry of Culture, with Paolo Rigano as artistic director. "Twenty years after it began, the festival confirms its identity: not just a place devoted to preserving the historical repertoire, but a space for research and artistic production," Rigano said in 2026. ## The 2026 programme The twentieth-anniversary edition crossed several European traditions, from the Baroque to the Iberian peninsula and on to flamenco. This was the calendar, from Cefalunews and Madonie Press: | Date | Where | What | |---|---|---| | Tuesday 25 August | Church of Santa Maria di Gesù | "Amore e Tempesta", Arianna Art Ensemble and soprano Martina Licari, works by Vivaldi and Händel and compositions by Paolo Rigano for early instruments | | Friday 28 August | Church of Santa Maria di Gesù | "Sospiro", Portuguese guitarist Tiago Matias on vihuela and baroque guitar: three centuries of music from Portugal and Spain | | Saturday 29 August | Piazza Monumento | talk on the festival's twenty years, with the Gratteri branch of Archeoclub d'Italia | | Sunday 30 August | Piazza Monumento | "Flamenco Mediterraneo", Michele Liso Trio (guitar, violin, percussion) | All events started at 21:15. In the August presentation the final concert was announced for Piazza Scala; reports from the following days place it in Piazza Monumento. ## Past editions The format stays the same: a few evenings, one concert in the square and one or two in the church, and a talk. - **2026**, 20th edition, 25-30 August: Arianna Art Ensemble, Tiago Matias, Michele Liso Trio. - **2025**, 19th edition, 28-30 August: Ambrogio Sparagna and Lumenea with old songs of Salento's Greek-speaking area in Piazza Monumento; the talk "Suoni e memorie della Sicilia al tempo degli spagnoli" and a baroque guitar recital by Paolo Rigano; Ensemble Orfeo Futuro with soprano Maddalena Di Biase. ## Practical tips Gratteri is about 17 km from Cefalù (under half an hour) and about 68 km from Palermo (1 hour 15), according to our calculation on OpenStreetMap without traffic. The sources do not mention dedicated parking; for the roads see the [guide to driving in the Madonie](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/roads/). You can stay in the village, among the places listed in [where to stay in Gratteri](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/villages/gratteri/where-to-stay/), or in Cefalù. Before you set off, check the [Gratteri weather](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/weather/gratteri/). A few days later, from 7 to 9 September, Gratteri celebrates its patron with the [feast of San Giacomo](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/events/festa-di-san-giacomo-gratteri/). Other summer concerts are on the [music in the Madonie](https://www.lemadonie.it/en/events/music/) page. ## Past editions - 2025: 28 – 30 August 2025. [Source](https://www.balarm.it/eventi/il-festival-di-musica-antica-di-gratteri-musica-di-qualita-nel-cuore-delle-madonie-140357) ## Frequently asked questions ### When is the Festival di Musica Antica di Gratteri? The festival is held in the last week of August, over three or four evenings. In 2026 the twentieth edition ran from 25 to 30 August, in 2025 the nineteenth from 28 to 30 August. The 2027 dates have not been announced yet. ### Are the concerts free? Entry to all festival events is free, as confirmed for the 2026 edition too. The concerts start at 21:15. The sources do not mention booking. ### What kind of music can you hear? Early and baroque music played on period instruments, and encounters with Mediterranean folk traditions. In 2026 the programme ranged from the Baroque of Vivaldi and Händel to music from the Iberian peninsula from the 16th to the 18th century, all the way to flamenco. Artistic director Paolo Rigano describes it as a space for research and production. ### Who organises the festival? It is organised by the MusicaMente association of Palermo with a contribution from the Comune di Gratteri and support from the Ministry of Culture through the national fund for live performance. The artistic director is Paolo Rigano, guitarist and lutenist. ### Where are the concerts held? The concerts alternate between the church of Santa Maria di Gesù and Piazza Monumento, in the centre of Gratteri. In 2026 two concerts were in the church, the talk and the final concert in the square. ### How do you get to Gratteri? Gratteri is about 17 km from Cefalù (under half an hour) and about 68 km from Palermo (1 hour 15), according to our calculation on OpenStreetMap without traffic. The sources do not mention dedicated parking. ## Sources - [Cefalunews, il Festival di Musica Antica di Gratteri compie vent'anni (27 agosto 2026)](https://cefalunews.org/2026/08/27/il-festival-di-musica-antica-di-gratteri-compie-ventanni-dal-25-al-30-agosto-2026-musicisti-internazionali-e-una-conferenza/) - [Madonie Press, quattro appuntamenti per i 20 anni (11 agosto 2026)](https://www.madoniepress.it/2026/08/11/gratteri-il-festival-di-musica-antica-compie-20-anni-quattro-appuntamenti-in-programma/) - [Madonie Press, Flamenco Mediterraneo chiude il festival (29 agosto 2026)](https://www.madoniepress.it/2026/08/29/flamenco-mediterraneo-chiude-il-festival-di-musica-antica-di-gratteri/) - [Balarm, XIX edizione (2025)](https://www.balarm.it/eventi/il-festival-di-musica-antica-di-gratteri-musica-di-qualita-nel-cuore-delle-madonie-140357) --- Markdown version of the page https://www.lemadonie.it/en/events/gratteri-early-music-festival/, from Le Madonie (lemadonie.it), an independent guide to the Madonie. Facts with source and date of check.