Music and entertainment once again embrace Sardinia's age-old roots, transforming the extraordinary archaeological site of Su Nuraxi in Barumini into an open-air stage. From July 11th to 31st, for the second consecutive year, the Barumini Music & Heritage Festival will shine. This event, curated by artistic director Mauro Meli and promoted by the Fondazione Barumini Sistema Cultura, in collaboration with the Municipality of Barumini, the Association of Local Authorities for Cultural and Entertainment Activities, and the contribution of the Regional Directorate of National Museums of Sardinia, will be held . This refined and prestigious event will bring together art, culture, and the history of Sardinia's identity with an archaeological site of extraordinary beauty—declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997—in one of the most evocative settings in the Mediterranean.
Four unmissable events are concentrated in the month of July, featuring internationally renowned artists such as musicians Cesare Chiacchiaretta and Giampaolo Bandini, actor Gabriele Lavia accompanied by Otello Visconti, tenor Francesco Demuro accompanied by Cristiano Manzoni, and the dancers of the Artemis Danza Company (in order of appearance) . Four intimate, precious evenings, bringing together music, theater, and dance in the heart of the island's most famous Nuragic palace, a symbol of Sardinia worldwide and a unique testimony to a civilization that continues to fascinate scholars and international visitors.
"Su Nuraxi is not only an extraordinary testament to our past, but a living space that continues to generate culture, knowledge, and opportunities. We want to offer visitors experiences that excite and simultaneously enhance Sardinia's profound identity," said Salvatore Bellisai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fondazione Barumini Sistema Cultura. For Emanuele Lilliu, Mayor of Barumini, the festival is also a key component of the region's cultural growth strategy: "Bringing great performers and internationally renowned productions to our iconic monument means strengthening the bond between the region and its cultural heritage, making it increasingly accessible, attractive, and capable of generating new opportunities for all of inland Sardinia."
Following the success of its first edition, the festival, directed by Mauro Meli, a passionate admirer of the entire Barumini area since his youth, is renewing its formula, aiming to showcase its historic cultural heritage through contemporary artistic languages and high-quality offerings. "These are performances that don't fit into the usual festival circuits," Meli emphasized. "This program, conceived in collaboration with some artist friends who have accompanied me over the years, aims to use song, instrumental music, spoken word, and dance as a tool for knowledge and beauty, capable of inspiring and moving young people in particular. To pay homage to such a powerful site as the Royal Palace, I have created a series of refined yet easy-listening offerings, capable of attracting a wide range of audiences."
A project that brings together extraordinary artists such as actor and director Gabriele Lavia and renowned tenor Francesco Demuro, with one of the symbolic places of Sardinian identity. "These are world heritage sites that come together," says Demuro, "the site of Barumini and Verdi's immortal music will live again in the enchantment of Su Nuraxi . I am deeply proud to be part of this event and have a sincere feeling of affection and friendship for Meli, with whom I made my debut at the Teatro Regio in Parma in 2007."
The role of the National Museums of Sardinia and its director, Melissa Ricetti, has been fundamental, having supported the event with deep conviction . "In confirming the shared purpose and synergy that bind us to the Royal Palace of Barumini, we enthusiastically support an event that, through high-level artistic expressions, will offer the public a sensorial experience capable of enhancing the millennial and universal cultural value of the entire archaeological area of 'Su Nuraxi'."
The Barumini Music & Heritage Festival thus confirms its position as one of the most prestigious cultural events of the Sardinian summer, combining the evocative power of music and entertainment with the timeless beauty of one of Europe's most important archaeological sites. A journey through art and memory that, once again, will make Su Nuraxi the beating heart of culture throughout the Mediterranean region, demonstrating how the heritage of the past can live on and speak to the present through the universal language of art .
The event is part of the Multidisciplinary Sardinia Festival, funded by the Ministry of Culture, the Autonomous Region of Sardinia - Department of Tourism, and the Fondazione di Sardegna.
The billboard
The program will open on Saturday 11 July with the concert “Nubes de Buenos Aires ”, entrusted to the duo Giampaolo Bandini and Cesare Chiacchiaretta, protagonists of a refined journey through Argentine music through the compositions of Astor Piazzolla, Bardi and Pujol.
On Friday, July 17th, theater and music meet with one of the greatest performers on the Italian stage, Gabriele Lavia, accompanied on the piano by maestro Otello Visconti. The show " Verdi's Shakespeare " offers an original journey through words and music, a tribute to the genius of the Bard and the immortal music of Giuseppe Verdi, designed specifically for the timeless charm of Su Nuraxi.
On Friday, July 24, one of the most anticipated events of the entire festival takes place: tenor Francesco Demuro, one of the most appreciated and sought-after Italian voices on the international opera scene, accompanied on the piano by maestro Cristiano Manzoni, in a recital entitled “ Arie d'Opera a Su Nuraxi ,” featuring some of the most famous works composed by Bellini, Verdi, and Puccini.
The grand finale will be Friday, July 31st, with " Puccini's Opera. Voci di donne ," a show by Monica Casadei for Artemis Danza. This creation interweaves choreographic art, images, and music to tell the story of four iconic female figures from Puccini's universe, from Tosca to Madama Butterfly, Mimì, and Turandot, conveying to audiences all the emotional power, modernity, and depth of their stories.
Plan
July 11, 2026 (9:00 PM)
“Clouds of Buenos Aires”
Cesare Chiacchiaretta bandoneon
Giampaolo Bandini guitar
The Giampaolo Bandini-Cesare Chiacchiaretta duo, guitar and bandoneon, formed over twenty years ago with the specific aim of presenting Argentine music through the charm and magic of its most iconic instruments. They immediately became a key figure in the international concert scene due to their powerful communicative power combined with extraordinary charisma. Invited to perform at the world's most important festivals and theaters, the duo has toured in over 50 countries, including Argentina, Mexico, the USA, and Korea, garnering extraordinary critical and audience acclaim everywhere.
“CLOUDS OF BUENOS AIRES”
Astor Piazzolla:
-Bandoneon
-Adios Nonino
-Suite from Maria de Buenos Aires
-Oblivion
-Zita
-Libertango
Agustin Bardì:
-Blind Rooster
Maximo Diego Pujol:
-Clouds of Buenos Aires
July 17, 2026 (9:00 PM)
“Verdi's Shakespeare”
Gabriele Lavia narrator
Otello Visconti piano
One of the most extraordinary partnerships in the history of opera: that of William Shakespeare and Giuseppe Verdi, which Barumini audiences will be able to enjoy in the vastness of the Barumini nights. The protagonist of Verdi's Shakespeare is a magnificent Gabriele Lavia, accompanied on the piano by Otello Visconti. Among the most powerful figures in Italian theater over the past fifty years, Gabriele Lavia has graced the stage as an actor, director, screenwriter, and performer of the great classics, from Shakespeare to Pirandello, from Dostoevsky to Chekhov. I think Verdi's attraction to Shakespeare was more to do with his belief in the power of transforming great literature into music than with any personal affinity. He certainly had a formidable instinct for art with a capital A. But while today, as then, no one knows anything about Shakespeare's life, it's undeniable that Verdi was deeply drawn to the themes that dominate his literature. He was clearly enamored with Macbeth, both when he wrote it in 1847 and when he finally revised and expanded it in 1865.
July 24, 2026 (9:00 PM)
“Opera Arias in Su Nuraxi”
Francesco Demuro tenor
Cristiano Manzoni piano
Pieces by Verdi, Puccini, Bellini and others, selected from the tenor's repertoire
July 31, 2026 (9:00 PM)
"Puccini's Opera. Women's Voices"
Artemis Dance Company
Choreography, direction, sets, lighting and costumes: Monica Casadei
Music: Giacomo Puccini
Original music and musical arrangements: Fabio Fiandrini, Luca Vianini
Production: Artemis Danza Company/ Monica Casadei
Co-production: Ferrara Municipal Theatre Foundation
In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco and the Italian Cultural Institute of Tirana
With the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Emilia-Romagna Region - Department of Culture, and the Municipality of Parma
The Artemis Danza Company dedicates its artistic project to four of Giacomo Puccini's timeless heroines: Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Mimì, and Turandot. We find Monica Casadei's personal interpretation of the theme of femininity at the center of a process of choreographic, visual, and musical reinterpretation. The protagonists are women as diverse as they are linked by a common thread of timeless and contemporary stories. Tragic love, thwarted and opposed love, cruel, destructive love, and the lust for possession that leads to destruction: all of this lives in the faces, bodies, and gestures of the Company, which continually inspires reflection on the relevance of stories that have moved audiences around the world.
Press release:
https://www.fondazionebarumini.it/su-nuraxi-teatro-del-mondo/
Landing page with the events program:
https://www.fondazionebarumini.it/barumini-music-heritage-festival/
