Calabrian Tarantella Night in Rizziconi, 29 August 2026

Piazza Lo Sardo · Rizziconi, Costa Viola, Calabria

29 August 2026

On Saturday 29 August 2026 at 9 pm, piazza Lo Sardo in Rizziconi hosts the Calabrian Tarantella Night: an evening devoted to dance and folk music, described on the poster as a night of fun, tradition and popular music. It is the last major event of the «Rizziconi Agosto 2026» programme before the closing evening on the 30th, and it rounds off a month in which traditional music returned several times: with the Peppe Sapone concert in Drosi on 14 August and with Etnosound in Spina on the 18th. The tarantella in the Gioia Tauro plain is not archive material: the diatonic accordion, the tambourine, the chitarra battente and the zampogna are still played at feasts, and the rota — the circle that opens around the dancers — remains the form in which this music truly lives.

The evening: 29 August, 9 pm, piazza Lo Sardo

The Calabrian Tarantella Night takes place on Saturday 29 August 2026 at 9 pm in piazza Lo Sardo, in Rizziconi. The «Rizziconi Agosto 2026» poster presents it plainly: a night of fun, tradition and folk music.

It is the last major event of the programme. After it, only the closing evening of 30 August curated by the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria remains. Piazza Lo Sardo is the same square that on 9 August hosted the Serata Italiana, with the vintage car show and the street food.

The poster does not list the groups performing that evening.

What the Calabrian tarantella is

The Calabrian tarantella is the region's folk dance, and in the Gioia Tauro plain the tradition is still alive. It is not a stage dance: it was born for the feast and is danced in pairs or in groups inside the «rota», the circle that opens around those dancing and governs the changes.

The instruments are the traditional ones: the diatonic accordion, the tambourine keeping the rhythm, the chitarra battente and, in some areas, the zampogna bagpipe. It is music passed on by imitation rather than by score, and in the towns of the plain it still accompanies patronal feasts, weddings and summer evenings.

An evening like this puts the dance at the centre instead of relegating it to a side element of a concert: it is the difference between watching the tarantella and dancing it.

A summer of traditional music

The Tarantella Night is not an isolated episode in the Rizziconi programme. On 14 August, in Drosi, the Peppe Sapone concert brings the repertoire of the Calabrian «mastro cantaturi» to piazza San Martino. On 18 August, in Spina, Etnosound devote their evening to folk music, between tradition and popular rhythms.

Three events in one month, in three different places in the municipality, reveal a choice: in this summer programme traditional music is not filler but a main thread, alongside the pop tributes and the Nineties nights.

Rizziconi and piazza Lo Sardo

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: citrus groves and centuries-old olive trees, with farming as the main activity.

Its origins are tied to the history of the plain: the town probably arose as a consequence of the destruction of Tauriana and Metauria, between 950 and 951, and the oldest known record of the name dates from 1324. The centre is home to the church of San Teodoro Martire, dedicated to the patron saint celebrated on 9 November, and to eighteenth-century noble palaces.

Piazza Lo Sardo is one of the main squares of the centre, on via Michelangelo Buonarroti, and is one of the two town-centre hubs of the programme along with piazza Guglielmo Marconi.

Getting there and what to know

The poster lists no tickets, advance sales or prices for the evening, which takes place in a public square in the centre.

Rizziconi is reached by car from the Gioia Tauro exit on the A2 motorway; the municipal area is crossed by the SS 111 road from Gioia Tauro to Locri. From the sea of the Costa Viola it is less than twenty minutes.

For dinner before the dancing you can see where to eat in Rizziconi and the other businesses in the town. The full summer programme is on the Summer in Rizziconi 2026 page; other events in the area are in the events section and, if you are staying a few days, there are holiday homes.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Calabrian Tarantella Night in Rizziconi?

Saturday 29 August 2026 at 9 pm, in piazza Lo Sardo in Rizziconi, province of Reggio Calabria.

Who performs during the evening?

The «Rizziconi Agosto 2026» poster does not list the groups or artists on the bill: it gives the title of the evening, the place and the time.

What is the Calabrian tarantella?

It is the folk dance of Calabria, still alive in the Gioia Tauro plain. It is danced in pairs or in groups inside the «rota», the circle that opens around the dancers, accompanied by the diatonic accordion, the tambourine, the chitarra battente and, in some areas, the zampogna.

Do I need a ticket?

The poster lists no prices, advance sales or box office. The evening takes place in piazza Lo Sardo, a public space in the centre.

Are there other folk music evenings on the programme?

Yes: on 14 August the Peppe Sapone concert in piazza San Martino in Drosi, and on 18 August Etnosound in concert in piazza San Rocco in Spina, with an evening devoted to folk music.

How do I get to Rizziconi?

By car from the Gioia Tauro exit on the A2 motorway. The municipality is crossed by the SS 111 road from Gioia Tauro to Locri and lies in the Gioia Tauro plain, less than twenty minutes from the Tyrrhenian coast.

Related events and news

All Costa Viola events