Events in Penne, 2007

• May 2nd - not actually in Penne, but Coccullo (about an hour's drive), listed here as it's the most dramatic of all the traditional festivals in Abruzzo: the Festival of San Domenico, with the procession of the snake handlers. Get to handle live snakes ...
• May 7th Feast of San Massimo, patron saint of Penne, with procession carrying the saint's effigy through the streets
• Friendship nights: The feast of San Giovanni, traditional time to renew friendships, symbolised by giving wild flowers. All night celebrations of Abruzzese food and culture, organised by the 'Slow Food' movement:
  • June 22nd
    • 3pm Formal opening
    • 7pm on Stalls with wine, slow food, local produce, tastings, musical and theatrical displays and fireworks until dawn
  • June 23rd
    • 6 pm Stalls with wine, slow food, local produce, tastings, musical and theatrical displays (to be filmed by Farming Today..)
    • 9 pm Concert
    • 11 pm Folklore show 'Le cummare e lu cumpare a fjure'
    • 1 am Music and thatrical displays till dawn
• Pescara Jazz Festival, July 10-15 - clearly not in Penne, but if you're into Jazz, it's a biggie. This year Natalie Cole, the SF Jazz Collective, Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau, the Lars Sjosten Octet, and the Charles Tolliver Big Band will be playing. You can get tickets from the Pescara Jazz website.
• July and August open air performances: almost every evening thorugh July and August (when there isn't one of the bigger events listed below) there is an open air concert or performance of some kind in the Belvedere (enter from the Piazza dei Martiri di Penne, the smaller square next to Penne main square, Piazza Luca da Penne). Performances always start at 9 and are free
• 26th July, 9pm: Vincenzo Tartaglia and the penne Musicians play at the Town Hall
• 28th July, 9pm: The '24th Penne Night', run by the Penne Amateur Runner's society (?!), in the town centre
• 26th-29th July 8.45 pm: 'A Vestini August with taste'. No idea what this is, but it's in the new sports complex on the hill into Penne. It sounds like it involves food. It may include the Trofeo Fonte Manente, a contest for players of "'ddu'bbotte", a traditional Abruzzese accordion
• 29th July, 9pm: Dialect play 'Nu ponce rotte sta a tutte li chese' on the Belvedere for the linguistically brave
• 30th July, 9pm: jazz performance in the Cloisters of S. Domenico (off the main square)
• 1st August, 9pm: Play 'Cuculetto' on the Belvedere for the linguistically brave
• 1st August, 10pm: Vincenzo Tartaglia and the penne Musicians play at the Town Hall
• 2nd August, 9pm: choral concert in the Cloisters of S. Domenico (off the main square)
• 4th August: 'White night': everything in the old town stays open over night, with some kind of festivities going on, including a dialect play on the Belvedere at 9pm and a Gymkhana in the town stadium at 10.30pm...
• 6th August, 9pm: musical festival on the Belvedere
• The Palio of the 6 Parishes. Each evening involves historical re-enactments, competition between the 6 historical neighbourhoods, and food, open-air concerts, etc. Dates for this year have been announced, but not the full details. On the pattern of previous years it should be as follows:
  • 9th August: Day 1 Re-enactment of the procession of the two princesses and the making of peace between the neighbourhoods. Archery competition
  • 10th August: Day 2 Procession of the two princesses. Sword fighting competion
  • 11th August: Day 3 Procession of the two princesses. Climbing the greasy pole
  • 12th August: Day 4 Procession of the two princesses. Donkey racing, and final decision on the winning neighbourhood
• 15th August: Ferragosto: National bank holiday. Everyone shuts up shop and heads for the coast.
• 13th-16th August: Pecora Nait ('Sheep Night') celebrating local food and arts and crafts, with market stalls, live demonstrations, music, and dancing. Including extra events:
  • 13th August, 9pm: Concert and Grand Gala in the Church of S. Giovanni Battista (just before the arcade in the main street)
  • 14th August, 9pm: Cabaret on the Belvedere
  • 14th August, 10pm: Vincenzo Tartaglia and the penne Musicians play at the Town Hall
  • 16th August, afternoon/evening: 'art and climbing' display in the town centre
• 16th-19th August: Harvest Festival ('Sagra dei Maccheroni dell trebbiatura) in Roccafinadamo, about 10 miles from Penne towards the mountain
• 24th August: B-side and Sonica in concert on the Belvedere
• 26th August, 9pm: A Musical ('Stand Together') on the Belvedere
• 28th August - 1st September: basketball competition (main carpark)
• 6th - 9th September: beer festival ('September Fest') in Ponte Baricelle, a village on the main Teramo road 4 km north of Penne
• 8th September Festival of the Madonna della Libera (the church in Largo San Panfilo, straight down the little alley in front of the house). The town band play in the streets much of the day
  • 18.00 procession from the church to the cathedral
  • 20.00 procession returns from the cathedral to the church
  • 21.00 on fireworks, dancing etc
• 15th September, 9pm: concert on the Belvedere by the Monte Camicia choir
• 22nd September, 9pm: concert by the Trio Nice in S. Demenico cloisters (off Piazza di Luca, the main square)
• 23rd-25th November: The Penne-Moscow Literary Awards. Probably not of much interest unless your italian is fluent, but quite an amazing event for a small town: the chief competition is between writers of world stature, and the jury composed of 400 citizens of Penne, who get to meet the authors

More events coming soon...