Arts Festival

The legend of Pinocchio

Friday 26th to Sunday 28th June 2026

CERVIA - Piazzale dei Salinari

The three-day event dedicated to the visual arts returns to Cervia in the beautiful setting of Piazzale dei salinari, on the Canal Harbour.

Organised by the Cultural Association ‘Il Cerbero’, in collaboration with the Municipality of Cervia and curated by Silvana Costa, the Festival of the Arts creates a magical fairy-tale atmosphere on the stretch of water on which the Magazzino del Sale Darsena is reflected. This evocative place for the occasion is literally occupied in every corner by painters, sculptors, mosaicists, but also cinema, theatre, music, workshops for children shows and readings.

Thanks to the simplicity of the formula that sees the artists create ‘live’, the enthusiasm of those who attend, and the complicity of the early summer heat, the ‘three days’ dedicated to visual arts in the street has become, for tourists and residents alike, one of the most eagerly awaited popular festivals.

More than 50 artists perform painting, sculpting, mosaics and ceramics.

The works created are displayed in the exhibition that takes place every year in October at the Salt Storehouse.

Collodi and Pinocchio for the 2026 edition

“Collodi-Pinocchio / Fairy Tale – Temptations – Second Thoughts” is the theme that will inspire the creations at the 25th edition of the festival.
A theme of profound philosophical reflection and highly topical relevance.

Artists are invited to engage with Collodi’s masterpiece to explore the complexities of human identity in the contemporary world.

Who is Collodi today, and what does he tell us through Pinocchio?

How can art interpret this subject and present us with a work that mirrors our reality?

Are people still capable of developing their own individual qualities, or has the advent of technology – no longer dedicated to improving the quality of life – flattened and erased the self?

The great challenge facing the artists lies precisely in the answers that will take shape and form over the three days of the festival.
To convey, through art, how ‘being Pinocchio’ means knowing how to face and overcome the obstacles we ourselves create on our path, and to rediscover how willing we still are to listen to the Talking Cricket to accelerate our journey of growth.

Artists taking part in the Festival

Participants:

Daniela Albani, Margherita Amicucci, Paolo Ancarani, Irene Balducci, Marcella Belletti, Luciana Bellotti, Giorgio Biagini, Claudio Bocchini, Erica Borghi, Elena Butmalai, Ugo Capriani, Eliseo Calcinari Ansidei, Antonio Caranti, Silvana Cardinale, Barbara Casabianca, Mauro Castellucci, Serena Castellucci, Sergio Catitti, Maurizio Chiarucci, Luca Colangelo, Gaia Cortesi, Roberta Dallara, Massimo Di Bartolomeo, Rosanna Emmi, Francesca Forlazzini, Paolo Graziani, Frida Guerra, Susanna Lega, Vera Lowen, Paola Maltoni, Yailen Manresa, Mascia Margotti, Sabrina Mazza, Giovanna Miziniak, Ilaria Montemaggi, Luciana Mussoni, Petronella Ortmann, Fabrizio Pavolucci, Emanuela Piraccini, Serena Pironi, Stefano Pironi, Dina Polidori, Gregorio Prada Castillo, Liliana Quadrelli, Eufemia Rampi, Marina Ravaioli, Monica Righetti, Maria Luisa Romani, Laura Rondinini, Melania Salvi, Margherita Tedaldi, Teresio Troll, Yuri Tosi, Raffaella Vaccari, Sara Valenti, Elisa Zaghini.

Plenty of workshops for children

The Festival has always placed great emphasis on passing on craft and artistic knowledge to children through dedicated creative workshops:

• The Art of Mosaics
  curated by Paola Maltoni and Loretta Fariselli, to learn the historic mosaic technique of the Ravenna tradition.
• Painting Among the Puppets
  an immersive workshop organised by the Ossigeno Rosso collective, guided by the slogan “I am Master Geppetto and with my own hands I bring Pinocchio to life”, to explore various techniques ranging from painting to collage.

Every evening, a concert accompanies the event

Each evening of the festival will be accompanied and enriched by a major cultural and spectacular event:

• Friday 26th June – Pinocchio and the Quest for Happiness
  A fascinating interdisciplinary journey from Prometheus to the biplane, through the figures of Byron, Jekyll, Pinocchio, Dracula, Romanticism and Freud, exploring how the imagination has shaped the last two centuries. The performance will feature projected images and recited passages. With narration by Teresio Troll, recitation by Loredana Scianna (Teatro del Cerchio, Parma) and musical accompaniment by Toni Salvatori.

• Saturday 27th June – Mud Walkers Blues Trio in concert
  An evening dedicated to the rousing Chicago Blues of the 1950s and 1960s. The trio, comprising Cris Dis (vocals), Ant. Jacopo Argento (electric guitar) and Marcoh Van Harp (harmonica), will perform the great classics by the genre’s leading figures such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Little Walter.

• Sunday 28th June – Etilisti Noti in concert
  Grand finale with the Forlì-based acoustic-folk trio comprising Annalisa Licata (vocals), Filippo Barucci (acoustic guitar) and Arlo Zenzani (violin, classical guitar and backing vocals). Active since 2012, they will perform original acoustic arrangements ranging from Italian singer-songwriters (De André, Guccini, De Gregori, Modena City Ramblers) to Johnny Cash and rousing traditional Irish tunes.

In the case of bad weather, the event will be cancelled.

The festival is realised with the contribution of: Cervia Municipality, Club del sole, Consar, Nadep.