Festival Etnosfera: a journey through cultures and sounds in Aggius

Join us on the 28th of June for the third edition of the festival of peoples and music, exploring the stone village of Aggius through music, cinema, and tradition.

Ready for a unique experience? Combine a relaxing seaside holiday with a visit to the heart of Gallura for the third edition of Etnosfera: Festival of Peoples and Music in Aggius! From June 28th to 30th, this charming village, awarded the Orange Flag by the Touring Club and recognized as an Authentic Village of Italy, transforms into an open-air stage. Three days of music, cinema, poetry, and literature to celebrate minority languages and cultural diversity in a free and unmissable event, conceived by the Pro Loco of Aggius to preserve and enhance the richness inherent in the diversity of human cultures.

Etnosfera is not just a musical event, but a true cultural laboratory. Imagine three days of performances, concerts, and dialogues, where artists from all over the world share their experiences and perspectives. This edition features the American multi-instrumentalist Mark Harris, the pioneer DJ of the Neapolitan-Mediterranean sound Pellegrino, the singer-songwriter Chiara Effe, the accordionist Pierpaolo Vacca, and the director and screenwriter Gianfranco Cabiddu. The artistic director, Marco Lutzu, an ethnomusicologist and lecturer at the University of Cagliari, promises us a rich and varied program. Alongside him is ethnomusicologist and musician Diego Pani: “From the first year, we envisioned a path where musical performances are accompanied by reflections on music, culture, and language. Central to the program are the conversations and insights with the artists, discovering ever-changing sounds, idioms, and images”.

Discovering the village of Aggius

The festival is also the perfect opportunity to visit the picturesque village of Aggius and discover numerous fascinating spots: the Capitza park, surrounded by granite and cork oak trees; the Gjocu di La Pampana square (the hopscotch game) with its numbered squares in a single row; the Meoc Ethnographic Museum, which preserves the arts and crafts of this area, including weaving with manual looms and wool dyed with vegetable dyes; the cool and shaded granite alleys housing the works of the AAAperto Contemporary Art Museum.

Events not to miss

It starts on Friday, June 28th in Piazza Tortu (5:45 PM) with Lingua Madre Social, where Ivo Murgia talks with Emiliano Mulas and Marina Meloni Mameda about promoting the Sardinian language on social media. At 6:30 PM, Cercala se puoi, a discussion on the art of songwriting with Chiara Effe, winner of the 2018 Fabrizio de André prize, considered one of the most interesting new songwriters. At 7 PM, Chiara Effe will be the protagonist of the festival’s first concert.

On Saturday, June 29th, the morning begins in the coolness of the Fonte Cagadda with Di Suoni e Sapori, a dialogue between Marco Lutzu and Arrogalla on the integration of electronic and folk sounds. This is followed by Il poeta degli stazzi (11:30 AM), a discussion on poetry in the Gallurese language and a performance titled Di Versi e Suoni (12 PM), featuring a selection of poems and stories from the Aggju Prize of Gallurese tales and cossi curated by the Gallurese Dramatic Company. In the afternoon, focus on the Capitza Park with Poetas a Tenore (6 PM), a meeting on Sardinian literature and tenore singing with Bustianu Pilosu and Tenore Vitzichesu. From 7 PM, an evening of concerts with the dark folk band Ilienses, Pierpaolo Vacca ft DJ Cris, Arrogalla, and Pellegrino.

On Sunday, June 30th, the doors of the Church of Santa Vittoria open for a solo cello, electronics, and voice concert by musician Gianluca Pischedda. In the afternoon, at the Meoc Ethnographic Museum, Behind the Scenes, a discussion on the presence of women in the four-part singing tradition of Sardinia with Dolores Biosa and other young interpreters. Also at Meoc, at 6 PM, there is a session on film music with Faber, Sardinia, a discussion with Gianfranco Cabiddu, author of the 2015 documentary Faber in Sardinia & Fabrizio De André’s last concert, and Mark Harris, keyboardist, arranger and internationally renowned American composer, long-time collaborator of De André since the ’70s. The third edition of “Etnosfera” will be concluded by Mark Harris with a suggestive solo piano concert in Piazza del Rosario (9:30 PM), inspired by images from Cabiddu’s film projected on the granite walls of the church, creating a fantastic night of music and emotions.