Summer in Rizziconi 2026: the August programme

Rizziconi, centro e frazioni · Rizziconi, Costa Viola, Calabria

2 August 2026 – 30 August 2026

The «Rizziconi Agosto 2026» programme brings twenty days of events between 2 and 30 August, across the town centre and the hamlets of Cirello, Drosi and Spina. The month opens with children's theatre in piazza Marconi and continues with the street food of «Summer Game and Good Food», the third Aubergine Festival in Drosi, the Peppe Sapone concert and an intense week in Spina, where the S. Rocco association brings to the square a children's festival, the Pooh tribute by Le Orme dei Pooh, the folk music of Etnosound and a 1990s show party. From 20 to 22 August comes the biggest event of the Rizziconi summer: the 20th Beer Festival run by the Agorà association, with the Antigua concert, the Genio Quiz Game and the ninth edition of the Marilena Arena Award. The month closes with a poetry evening and a book presentation in the old village, the Calabrian Tarantella Night in piazza Lo Sardo and the Metropolitan City evening.

Twenty days, one town and three hamlets

«Rizziconi Agosto 2026» is the summer programme of the municipality of Rizziconi: twenty days of events from 2 to 30 August. It is not a single festival but a shared calendar, where each evening carries the signature of a different association — the «San Teodoro Martire» Catholic Action group, E.Sa.T, Drosi Attiva, the S. Rocco association of Spina, the Agorà association — coordinated and supported by the municipal administration.

The defining feature of the programme is that it moves. Rizziconi is not a town gathered in a single centre: the settlement is spread between the main town and its hamlets, and the calendar follows that geography. Piazza Marconi and piazza Lo Sardo in the centre, piazza Sorbara in Cirello, piazza San Martino in Drosi, piazza San Rocco in Spina, the middle-school area on via Palmiro Togliatti, and the old village of via Savoia for the quieter evenings.

From 2 to 12 August: theatre, street food and tournaments

It opens on Sunday 2 August at 10 pm in piazza Marconi with interactive children's theatre: a workshop-performance in which the youngest become the protagonists, creating stories, drawing and acting together with the actors.

On 3 and 4 August the programme moves to Cirello, in piazza Sorbara, for the fifth edition of «Heart Cream con Matteo»: on the 3rd at 6 pm the table football tournament and at 10 pm the musical show by «Suddanza»; on the 4th at 10 pm it is the turn of «Radio Radianti», a Ligabue cover band.

On Friday 7 at 9.30 pm, in via Giuseppe Garibaldi at the Chiesa Matrice, the «San Teodoro Martire» Catholic Action group stages the comedy «Se è gratis, ungitimi tuttu». On Sunday 9 in piazza Lo Sardo comes the Serata Italiana: at 7.30 pm a vintage car show, at 8.30 pm street food with Italian specialities, at 10 pm the «Febbre Italiana» concert.

On 11 and 12 August in piazza Marconi the E.Sa.T association runs «Summer Game and Good Food», two days of games and food: on Tuesday 11 at 6.30 pm a two-a-side football tournament, at 7.30 pm street food with a children's area, bouncy castles and entertainment, at 9.30 pm human table football and a beer pong tournament; on Wednesday 12 at 6 pm the briscolone card tournament, at 7.30 pm street food and children's area again, at 9.30 pm the human table football final with the prize-giving.

Drosi: the Aubergine Festival and Peppe Sapone

On 13 and 14 August the programme moves to Drosi, in piazza San Martino, with two evenings curated by the Drosi Attiva association.

On Thursday 13, from 9 pm, the third edition of the Aubergine Festival takes place, with live music by Martina Mattiani, Enzo Argirò and Alberto Catania. On Friday 14, at 9 pm, the Peppe Sapone concert: an evening devoted to the great popular tradition, between sounds, emotions and compelling rhythms.

Drosi deserves a word of its own. It is the most populous hamlet, just over eight hundred inhabitants two kilometres from the centre, and it has an ancient history: it was a Statio Romana along the Via Popilia, the consular road that ran down towards the crossing point for Sicily.

Spina: the week of the S. Rocco association

From 16 to 19 August the heart of the programme is piazza San Rocco, in Spina, with four consecutive evenings signed by the S. Rocco «Spina» association.

On Sunday 16, «La Combriccola dell'Allegria - The great children's festival»: performance, entertainment, games, music and fun for the youngest and their families. On Monday 17 the concert by «Le Orme dei Pooh», a tribute to the band's greatest hits, organised with the support of the municipality of Rizziconi. On Tuesday 18 Etnosound in concert, an evening of folk music between tradition and popular rhythms. On Wednesday 19 «Riviviamo gli anni '90 - Show Party», a journey through the legendary Nineties, with the traditional sausage sandwiches.

The 20th Beer Festival, 20 to 22 August

This is the biggest event of the Rizziconi summer, and in 2026 it reaches its twentieth edition. It is organised by the Agorà association in via Palmiro Togliatti, in the middle-school area, and runs over three evenings.

On Thursday 20 at 10 pm the Antigua concert. Friday 21 is the fullest evening: at 9.30 pm the Genio Quiz Game, at 10 pm the presentation of SSD Rizziconi, at 11 pm the ninth edition of the Marilena Arena Award. On Saturday 22 at 10 pm «Nostalgia 90», a musical evening devoted to the great hits of the Nineties.

The Marilena Arena Award is the part of the festival that best explains what Agorà means to the town: since 2018 the association has remembered Marilena, who lost her life at twenty-seven in a car accident, and awards the prize by honouring the qualities that were hers — sensitivity, dedication, and attention to volunteering and social commitment.

The finale: poetry, books and tarantella

The final evenings change register. On Sunday 23 at 10 pm, in via Savoia in the old village, «Il tempo di un verso»: a poetry evening curated by Vincenza Teti, devoted to the beauty of poetry, between emotion, listening and sharing in the heart of the old town. On Monday 24, at the same time and place, Dr Domenico Logordo presents the book «Dove il mondo trattiene», a work that tells the story of Calabria through its places, its memory and the value of its communities.

On Saturday 29 at 9 pm the programme returns to piazza Lo Sardo for the Calabrian Tarantella Night: an evening of fun, tradition and folk music. On Sunday 30 the calendar closes with an evening curated by the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, for which the poster gives neither a title nor a time.

Rizziconi: where it is and what it is like

Rizziconi is a town of around seven thousand six hundred inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, entirely flat, in the heart of the Gioia Tauro plain. It is an important farming centre: citrus groves and centuries-old olive trees, in one of Italy's great olive-growing areas.

The town's origins are tied to the history of the plain: like most villages in the area, Rizziconi probably arose as a consequence of the destruction of Tauriana and Metauria, between 950 and 951. The oldest known reference to the name dates from 1324, in a document about the payment of an ecclesiastical tithe by «presbyter Guillelmo de Riczicone». The centre is home to the church of San Teodoro Martire, dedicated to the patron saint, and to eighteenth-century noble palaces.

The area is crossed by the SS 111 road from Gioia Tauro to Locri, the axis linking the Tyrrhenian coast to the inner plain; the reference motorway exit on the A2 is Gioia Tauro. From the sea of the Costa Viola it is less than twenty minutes by car.

For dinner or a stop during the programme's evenings you can see where to eat in Rizziconi and all the businesses in the town. If you are staying a few days there are holiday homes in the area, and the rest of the calendar is in the events section.

Frequently asked questions

When does the Rizziconi Agosto 2026 programme take place?

From 2 to 30 August 2026, with twenty days of events. They are concentrated above all in the middle of the month, between the Spina week (16-19 August) and the 20th Beer Festival (20-22 August).

Where are the events held?

Between the centre of Rizziconi and its hamlets. The venues are piazza Guglielmo Marconi and piazza Lo Sardo in the centre, piazza Sorbara in Cirello, piazza San Martino in Drosi, piazza San Rocco in Spina, the middle-school area in via Palmiro Togliatti, the Chiesa Matrice in via Giuseppe Garibaldi and via Savoia in the old village.

What is the most important event?

The 20th Beer Festival, from 20 to 22 August in via Palmiro Togliatti, organised by the Agorà association: three evenings with the Antigua concert on the 20th, the Genio Quiz Game and the Marilena Arena Award on the 21st, and the Nostalgia 90 night on the 22nd.

Do I need a ticket for the events?

The Rizziconi Agosto 2026 poster lists no prices, advance sales or box offices for any of the events. They take place in the town's squares and public spaces and are promoted by the municipal administration together with local associations.

Which evenings have street food and food festivals?

The Serata Italiana on 9 August in piazza Lo Sardo, with street food from 8.30 pm; «Summer Game and Good Food» on 11 and 12 August in piazza Marconi, with street food from 7.30 pm and a children's area; the third Aubergine Festival on 13 August in Drosi from 9 pm; and the Beer Festival from 20 to 22 August. On 19 August, at the Spina show party, the traditional sausage sandwiches are served.

Are there events for children?

Yes. Interactive children's theatre on 2 August in piazza Marconi, the children's area with bouncy castles and entertainment on 11 and 12 August in piazza Marconi, and «La Combriccola dell'Allegria - The great children's festival» on 16 August in piazza San Rocco in Spina.

Who organises the programme?

The municipality of Rizziconi together with local associations: the «San Teodoro Martire» Catholic Action group, E.Sa.T, Drosi Attiva, the S. Rocco «Spina» association and the Agorà association. The closing evening on 30 August is curated by the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria.

How do I get to Rizziconi?

By car: the reference exit on the A2 motorway is Gioia Tauro, and the municipal area is crossed by the SS 111 road from Gioia Tauro to Locri. Rizziconi lies in the Gioia Tauro plain, less than twenty minutes from the Tyrrhenian coast of the Costa Viola.

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