Festival internazionale Isole che Parlano

Since 1996, the year of its first edition, but with increasing attention over the last fifteen years, the International Festival "Isole che Parlano" has successfully combined tourism, entertainment, culture, archaeology, productions and susceptibility of the territory and the environment in an original way; it maintains a high level of attention to the anthropic impact and to the places where it takes place and proposes a model based on encounter and diversity, which enhances the social function of making art.

Sardinia, with its deepest roots, confronts contemporary society by drawing an ideal bridge with the world.

Since 1996, the Festival has become a point of reference in the regional, national and international cultural scene, thanks to its acknowledged ability to combine tradition and innovation, which continues to be the backbone of the event, and to a theme or focus that changes every year.

The Festival hosts artists from all over the world representing different expressions of contemporary culture, avant-garde metropolitan movements and indigenous cultural productions, encouraging a comparison between the national and international festival circuits (mostly oriented towards jazz, new jazz, world music and traditional music) and Sardinia's traditional and/or innovative musical expressions. During the festival there are concerts, performances, lectures/meetings, art-children's workshops and play-educational activities, a photographic reportage exhibition and other side events. The events take place at various times of the day and are located in:

Archaeological and cultural areas, such as the Tombs of the Giants and the Church of "San Giorgio"

Natural monuments, such as the Bear Rock, with tenor and traditional singing groups;

Valuable landscape areas: "Cala Martinella", the Lighthouse of Punta Palau, "Cala Corsara" on the island of Spargi and the cliffs of "Punta Tegge" (La Maddalena);

Historical sites: Monte Altura Fortress (Palau) and Palazzo di Baldu (Luogosanto)

Streets and squares of the town centres and on the beach of "Palau Vecchio" for the "Saluto al mare" (Palau), which is a ritual at the end of each edition.

The Festival is characterised by four different sections, namely the main activity Isole che Parlano di Musica (Music), and other activities which, although collateral, have now taken on fundamental importance, such as Isole che Parlano ai Bambini (Children), Fotografia (Photography) and Sapori (Flavours). In fact, although music is the most represented artistic expression, the other three sections provide the festival with considerable interest and appeal, creating a varied programme, suitable for different audiences, and an important opportunity for promotion, with events taking place at various times of the day (morning, sunset, night), and located in different areas that, in addition to making them unique, allow the public to appreciate the variety and beauty of the area.

The Isole che Parlano di musica section, characterised by the now decades-old subsections (Di Granito, Risacca, Al faro, Ai Giganti, Saluto al mare, etc.), ranges between tradition and innovation, and hosts and produces concerts with avant-garde music and indigenous cultural productions (oriented towards research into jazz, new jazz, world music and traditional music) and workshops or meetings/lessons;

Isole che Parlano ai Bambini, now in its 17th year, constantly promotes the relationship between art (in all its forms), childhood and the territory, and takes the form of an intense three-day event with educational paths, workshops, concerts, exhibitions, screenings and shows, in spaces dedicated to children and young people;

Isole che Parlano di Fotografia offers reportage and social photography, with international guests and a strong focus on visual education (one exhibition remains open for a month with free guided tours for local schools). Finally, Isole che Parlano di Sapori completes the scenario with various moments in which the public can get to know and appreciate Sardinia's food and wine excellence in unusual but particularly valuable contexts.

The festival schedule takes place between the coast and the hinterland, between the countryside and the urban centre, connecting the different souls of communities and neighbouring territories, developing between the countryside and the sea. Since 2005, the event has been held during the month of September, offering an original, high-quality proposal that attracts the curiosity of a growing number of cultural tourists and professionals.

This is yet another reason to choose Sardinia as a destination for tourism that interacts with communities, with a view to discovering and getting to know the island's cultural, historical and physical landscape in all its different aspects.