Aria d'estate mamertina 2026: the summer programme of Oppido Mamertina

Oppido Mamertina, centro e borghi · Oppido Mamertina, Costa Viola, Calabria

28 June 2026 – 6 September 2026

Aria d'estate mamertina 2026 is the summer programme of the municipality of Oppido Mamertina, on the slopes of the Aspromonte in Calabria: almost sixty events between 28 June and 6 September, spread across the town centre and the hamlets of Piminoro, Messignadi, Castellace and Tresilico. August is the busiest month, with food festivals and street food, popular theatre, sports tournaments, book presentations and the concerts of the Feast of the Annunziata, which on 22 August brings Italian singer-songwriter Amedeo Minghi to piazza Umberto I. The calendar also includes the Calabria Tarantella Festival at Castellace for the Feast of the Assumption, a concert by Chiara Galiazzo at Messignadi for the feast of San Vincenzo, the ninth edition of the Note sull'Aspromonte music festival, the Azzurra Film Festival and the historical procession of the Annunziata, which re-enacts the miracle of 1743. September closes the season with a car slalom race, a mountain hike and a social trip to the Piani di Zervò. The events are promoted by the municipal administration together with local committees, associations and the Pro Loco.

What Aria d'estate mamertina is

Aria d'estate mamertina is the summer programme of Oppido Mamertina, a town of just over five thousand people on the slopes of the Aspromonte, above the Gioia Tauro plain. The 2026 edition runs from 28 June to 6 September and lists almost sixty events: it is not a single festival but a shared calendar that gathers under one title the initiatives of the municipal administration, the feast committees, the sports clubs, the Circolo dei Lettori Nostos, the Pro Loco and the local social clubs. The poster carries the logos of the Aspromonte National Park, the Regional Council of Calabria, the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, the Municipality of Oppido Mamertina, the Calabria Region and Calabria Straordinaria.

The defining feature of the programme is its geography: events are not concentrated in the centre but move between the hamlets. Piminoro, Messignadi, Castellace and Tresilico each have their own nights, almost always tied to the feast of the local patron saint. Visitors find a summer that shifts from one square to another, evening after evening.

August, 1 to 13: food festivals, theatre and tournaments

The month opens on 1 August at 9 pm with the five-a-side football final in piazza F. Marino Zuco, organised by FC Mamerto. 2 August is the busiest day: the Baby Olympics in piazza C. Barca at 6 pm, the Marcia Rosa walk from piazza San Rocco at 7.30 pm, the Marcia Rosa concert with the band Musa Trio Live in piazza Umberto I at 9.30 pm and the Time to Revive dj set in piazza Regina Margherita at 11.50 pm.

On 3 August the football finals are played in the hamlets of Piminoro and Messignadi, and at 9.30 pm the eleventh edition of Oppido: cultura e musica, curated by the Kiwanis association, takes place in piazza Umberto I. On 4 August at 10 pm there is Pileio's Night in piazza Salvatore Albano. From 5 to 13 August the tennis courts host the women's open tournament of the Gianni Caruso Tennis Club, with the final on the 13th at 8 pm; on 5 and 6 August the second edition of the blues festival is held in piazza Umberto I at 9.30 pm.

On 6 August from 7 pm the Beer Festival & Asprotek Street Food takes over piazza Umberto I. On the 7th at 10 pm the I Baroncini association stages the play «Giovanni e la Morte», under the patronage of the Calabria Region as part of Calabria che incanta. On 8 August at 8 pm it is the turn of the Aubergine Festival in Borgo Messignadi, with the Etno Sound concert, promoted by the San Vincenzo feast committee. On the 9th at 10 pm the first edition of the Premio Palazzaccio literary award is presented by the Circolo dei Lettori Nostos in piazza F. Marino Zuco.

On 10 August there are two events: at 6.30 pm the first Città di Oppido Mamertina motorbike meeting, with the unveiling of the Biker monument in Tresilico, and at 8 pm Food & Beverage in piazza Concesso Barca with the Ligabue cover band «Radio Radianti». On the 11th at 8 pm the arrosticini and local produce festival is held at the Affaccio in Borgo Piminoro. On the 10th and 12th at 5 pm the Circolo Operaio runs the briscola card tournament in piazza Umberto I. On the 12th at 8 pm the feast of San Vincenzo in Messignadi features a concert by Chiara Galiazzo; on the 12th and 13th at 6 pm there is the rifle competition in piazza Salvatore Albano. On the 13th at 10.30 pm theatre returns to piazza Umberto I with «Il profumo della rosa», staged by the Mamerto Teatro association.

August, 14 to 23: the Assumption, San Rocco and the Feast of the Annunziata

On 14 August at 10 pm the Feast of Maria SS. Assunta in Borgo Castellace hosts the Calabria Tarantella Festival, promoted by the municipal administration with the Metropolitan City. On the 16th at 10 pm the Feast of San Rocco in Borgo Piminoro brings the Penzeri Vaganti Tour 2026, curated by the San Rocco feast committee.

17 August is a full day: at 6 pm the presentation of the book «La montagna promessa» by Pasquale Mammone in Borgo Piminoro, at 7 pm the second edition of the Tipici Piaceri Mamertini food festival in piazza Umberto I with the Oppido Vive association, and at 10 pm the Emigrant's Feast with a concert by Turi Rugolo, again in piazza Umberto I.

On 18 August at 6 pm comes «Il Giglio e la Stella», the historical procession of the Annunziata, curated by the Maria SS. Annunziata feast committee. On the 19th at 7 pm the Pro Loco runs a treasure hunt in piazza Umberto I and at 9.30 pm «Giovanni e la Morte» is staged again in Borgo Castellace, in piazza Stranges. On the 20th at 6 pm piazza Regina Margherita hosts the ninth edition of the Note sull'Aspromonte festival, Giuseppe Timpano Memorial, with the Valle delle Saline association and the Giuseppe Rechichi Orchestra.

From 21 to 23 August the town lives the Feast of the Annunziata: on the 21st at 6.30 pm the Rocco Epifanio exhibition opens at the Cinema Teatro and can be visited at Palazzo Grillo from the 21st to the 23rd from 8.30 pm under the title «Oltre il confine - Trasmutazioni»; also on the 21st, at 10.30 pm, the Neo Folk Tour 2026 concert by Stefano Priolo and Nino De Francesco in piazza Umberto I. On the 22nd at 10.30 pm it is Amedeo Minghi's night on the same stage, followed at 11.50 pm by Time to Revive in piazza Regina Margherita. On the 23rd at 9 pm the Bati's Band plays in piazza Regina Margherita.

August, 24 to 29: cinema, books and the end of summer

From 24 to 28 August, from 8 am, the municipality runs the «Il Piccolo Principe» summer day camp at the Tonnara di Palmi. On the 24th at 10 pm piazza Regina Margherita and Palazzo Grillo host the twelfth edition of the Azzurra Film Festival, promoted by the Club Oppido Mamertina Racing.

On 25 August at 9.30 pm Don Francesco Cristofaro presents «Luce sul mio cammino» in the courtyard of the Episcopio, with the Circolo dei Lettori Nostos. On the 26th at 10 pm Francesco Rao presents «Il welfare generativo in Calabria» in the courtyard of Palazzo Grillo. On the 28th at 9.30 pm, again at Palazzo Grillo, comes «Confessioni di un malandrino», a journey through songs drawn from novels and poems.

29 August closes the month with three events: from 9 am the second edition of the open-air painting competition in piazza Umberto I, with the prize-giving at 7 pm; from 9 am the shooting competition in the Acquabona district, run by the Caccia Pesca Ambiente association; and at 7.30 pm the fourth edition of «Note in una notte di fine estate» in Borgo Castellace, piazza Stranges, with Oppido Vive and Auser.

September: slalom, Zervò and the mountain hike

The programme does not end with August. On 3 and 4 September, from 8 am, the municipal administration organises the social trip to the Piani di Zervò reserved for over-65s: Zervò is the Aspromonte plateau above Oppido, historically the summer retreat in the highlands for those living in the plain.

On 5 and 6 September, from 7.30 pm, the Club Oppido Mamertina Racing runs the car slalom race on Corso Mittica, starting from Autolipari, accompanied by the Piccadilly concert. Finally, on 6 September from 8 am, the Pro Loco closes the summer with a mountain hike meeting in contrada Palazzo.

The town and its hamlets: where the events take place

Oppido Mamertina is a rebuilt town: the Calabrian earthquake of 1783 razed the old settlement and the town was rebuilt a short distance away, with a regular street plan still visible today in its wide streets and generous squares. The geography of the programme follows from that.

Piazza Umberto I is the town's living room and the square for the main concerts, theatre and food festivals. Piazza Regina Margherita hosts the Note sull'Aspromonte festival, the Azzurra Film Festival and the late-night dj sets, and the poster pairs it with Palazzo Grillo: the noble palace commissioned by Don Giuseppe Grillo, of Genoese origin, after the earthquake that razed the old town, later bought by the municipality, restored and today home to museums, a library and conference rooms. Piazza F. Marino Zuco is the cathedral square, home to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, where the wooden statue of the Annunziata carved in 1841 by the Neapolitan sculptor Arcangelo Testa is kept.

Each of the four hamlets has its own night. Piminoro hosts the Feast of San Rocco and the arrosticini festival at the Affaccio, the belvedere overlooking the plain. Messignadi lives the Feast of San Vincenzo Ferreri, with the aubergine festival and the concert on 12 August. Castellace, in piazza Stranges, welcomes the Feast of the Assumption and the theatre and music evenings. Tresilico is the hamlet of the Marcia Rosa and of the Biker monument unveiled on 10 August.

Getting there and where to stay

Oppido Mamertina is reached by car from the Gioia Tauro plain, climbing inland: from the Gioia Tauro exit on the A2 motorway it is around twenty kilometres of road rising through olive groves. The town lies within the Aspromonte National Park and makes a good base for anyone wanting to alternate evenings in the square with hikes in the highlands, towards the Piani di Zervò and the inner Aspromonte.

It is also close to the sea: the Tyrrhenian Costa Viola coastline, between Palmi and Bagnara Calabra, is barely half an hour away by car, which is why the municipal summer camp is held at the Tonnara di Palmi. If you are planning a few days in the area you can browse the holiday homes and apartments on this portal, while for a stop or a meal in town there are the businesses in Oppido Mamertina.

Several events on the programme have their own page: Mamerto Blues on 5 and 6 August, the motorbike meeting on 10 August, the Baby Olympics and Marcia Rosa on 2 August and the women's open tennis tournament. The rest of the area's summer calendar is in the events section.

Frequently asked questions

When does Aria d'estate mamertina 2026 take place?

From 28 June to 6 September 2026. Most of the programme is concentrated in August, with events almost every evening; September has three initiatives, including the car slalom on the 5th and 6th and the mountain hike on the 6th.

Where do the events take place?

In Oppido Mamertina, in the province of Reggio Calabria, and in its hamlets. The main venues are piazza Umberto I, piazza Regina Margherita in front of Palazzo Grillo, piazza F. Marino Zuco, piazza C. Barca and piazza Salvatore Albano in the centre; then Borgo Piminoro, Borgo Messignadi, Borgo Castellace with piazza Stranges, and Tresilico.

What is the highlight of the programme?

The Amedeo Minghi concert on 22 August at 10.30 pm in piazza Umberto I, part of the Feast of the Annunziata: the date is also confirmed by the official 2026 tour calendar of the Roman singer-songwriter.

Do I need a ticket for the events?

The Aria d'estate mamertina poster lists no prices, advance sales or box offices for any of the events. They take place in the town's public squares and spaces and are promoted by the municipal administration together with committees, associations and the Pro Loco.

Who organises the programme?

The Municipality of Oppido Mamertina, together with the patron saint feast committees (Maria SS. Annunziata, San Vincenzo Ferreri, San Rocco, Festa Piminoro), the Pro Loco, the Circolo dei Lettori Nostos, the Oppido Vive, Valle delle Saline, I Baroncini, Mamerto Teatro, Kiwanis and Terrazza sulla Piana associations, the Club Oppido Mamertina Racing and local sports clubs. The poster also carries the patronage of the Aspromonte National Park, the Regional Council of Calabria, the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria and the Calabria Region.

Which food festivals are on the programme?

The Beer Festival & Asprotek Street Food on 6 August in piazza Umberto I, the Aubergine Festival on 8 August in Messignadi, the arrosticini and local produce festival on 11 August at the Affaccio in Piminoro, and the Tipici Piaceri Mamertini festival on 17 August in piazza Umberto I.

What happens during the Feast of the Annunziata?

On 18 August at 6 pm there is the historical procession «Il Giglio e la Stella» in piazza Umberto I. From 21 to 23 August come the Rocco Epifanio exhibition at Palazzo Grillo, the Neo Folk concert by Stefano Priolo and Nino De Francesco on the 21st at 10.30 pm, the Amedeo Minghi concert on the 22nd at 10.30 pm and the Bati's Band on the 23rd at 9 pm. All the events are curated by the Maria SS. Annunziata feast committee.

How do I get to Oppido Mamertina?

By car from the Gioia Tauro plain: from the Gioia Tauro exit on the A2 motorway it is about twenty kilometres of road climbing inland. The town lies within the Aspromonte National Park and is less than half an hour from the Tyrrhenian coast between Palmi and Bagnara Calabra.

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