a pinewood, a thousand shows
Words Cinzia Donati
A billboard announcing an intense and bubbly summer, that of Marina di Pietrasanta’s 43rd La Versiliana Festival, with the best artists of the Italian and international scene to animate, for the whole season, the historic space inside the pinewood which so inspired Gabriele D’Annunzio. La Versiliana is the longest festival of the Italian summer, this year lasting from July 9 to the end of August, every day full of attractions for the general public.
In the suggestive two thousand-seat, open-air theater, events and key figures in entertainment, international dance and prose will alternate with pop concerts featuring the big names in Italian music, scintillating shows and comic performances. Over forty shows on stage, including – just to name a few – the musicals “Mamma Mia” on July 31 and “Forza venite gente” on August 10, the amazing acrobatic dancing of Moses Pendleton’s Momix in “Back to Momix” on August 2 and 3, Drusilla Foer’s “Eleganzissima” show on August 6 (sold-out far in advance of the show’s date), and an evening with lots of laughter and a pinch of irreverence on August 14 with Giorgio Panariello, who returns to the Versilian stage with La Favola Mia”, the new show created to celebrate his twenty-year successful career. The billboard is the work of the artistic consultant, Massimo Martini.
Il Teatrino in Salotto (ph. Ettore Rossi)
Elisabetta Salvatori alla Fioreria delle Storie di Querceta (ph. Federico Neri)
Teatro all'aperto nel giardino di casa (ph. Ettore Rossi)
The festival is also famous for its literary salon, “Il Caffè de La Versiliana”, which every afternoon offers interesting encounters with familiar faces and the most authoritative people in literature, journalism, science and politics. Guests who, on the stage of the long- running talk show made famous by Romano Battaglia, will discuss the hot topics in current affairs and more.
Traditionally, at La Versiliana, there is a place and entertainment for everyone, even for children and families, with a dedicated space offering workshops and themed shows every day.
www.versilianafestival.it
