SUBSCRIBE TO THE MODENATODAY WHATSAPP CHANNEL
With a program full of music, shows and meetings, the 2024 edition of the Modenese Summer kicks off with the Summer Gardens, debuting on Saturday 29 June with Joan Osborne’s concert, and numerous events until September in the courtyards of historic center, city parks and sports facilities.
From the Ducal Gardens, the summer program expands, in fact, to Palazzo dei Musei, with events in the renovated Acero courtyard, to Piazza Roma for the three Ducal Nights, to the summer Supercinema arriving at Ovestlab, the Spazio Nuovo and the Spazio Lòdola. Shows and concerts also enliven the Amendola park, with Italian music, and the XXII Aprile park, where music from the world arrives, the Resistance park with dance and theater and the Ferrari park with the circus theatre. Finally, they enter the sports clubs, with the Villa d’oro offering talks and cinema, the Morane with emerging bands, the multi-purpose San Damaso with books and meetings.
The Modenese Summer, promoted by the Municipality of Modena with the support of the Modena Foundation and the Hera Group, sponsors for over ten years, is designed and created in collaboration with the city’s cultural bodies and associations. The “Summer Gardens” debut on Saturday 29 June, at 9pm, with a concert by the American singer Joan Osborne, author of the very famous “On of us”. The evening, which will be opened by singer-songwriter Ellen River, is the first Modena stage of the “Notes to Lennon” event, in collaboration with the Municipality of Castelnuovo Rangone. The event also returns on Monday 8 July, with the concert of the American Eileen Rose Band, special guest “The legendary” Rich Gilbert for an evening of country and honky-tonk music, and on Sunday 28 July with the Tuscan pop swing band “Musica da Closet”. Among the events at the Giardini also the concert by Venerus, a Milanese singer-songwriter among the most eclectic and appreciated artists who performs with Marta Del Grandi on Thursday 11 July as part of the Arti Vive Festival in collaboration with the Municipality of Soliera. In August, however, David Riondino arrives with a narrated and musical version of Don Quixote on stage on Sunday 11th. Finally, there is no shortage of traditional mid-August events with Beppe Zagaglia who this year expresses “Modenesità” through traditional cuisine in the evening of the 14th, and with opera, on August 15th with a tribute to Giacomo Puccini, lyrical voices, violin and piano to enjoy the most famous arias of the great master, organized by the Salotto Culturale Modena in collaboration with Momus.
Summer at the Gardens also offers dance with the gala of the best schools in Emilia Romagna and “D’amore e d’essere” and two docufilms dedicated to the history of Modena: “Emme. The Maserati in Modena” and “Alberto Braglia. The king’s athlete”. He enjoys a lot of music with the singer-songwriter Andrea Govoni, “The 5 kings of rock & soul revue”, the choirs of “Voci nei cloisters”, the accordionists of “Tango night”, the Revol experience festival and the Quartetto Vivaldiano. Finally, there is no shortage of laughter with the Italian Comedy Festival and the monologue “Tutti bene ma non massimo”.
In the Maple Courtyard, at Palazzo dei Musei, a review of words and music dedicated to Marco Polo begins on Monday 3 July, 700 years after his death, curated by the Modena cultural salon, while the Teatro dei Venti continues its investigation into the humanity and utopias with “Don Quixote: traveling show”, on 12 July, starting from Piazza Roma. And, again in Piazza Roma, the three “Notti Ducali” events, organized by Studio’s, will also return from Monday 15 July. The event opens with the energetic Devil Quartet by trumpeter Paolo Fresu and his “Impromptus”. Tuesday 16 July is the turn of the civil theater of Corrado Formigli and Stefano Massini together in “Titanic, the planet sinks but the orchestra continues to play”, and on Wednesday 17 July it will be Fiorella Mannoia, who is celebrating her seventieth birthday, who will give the I host a great concert accompanied by a band and a symphony orchestra.
The September program returns to Palazzo dei Musei with the puppets of In baracca con Alex and with the concert “Cantate e serenate” in the Galleria Estense, while in the church of Sant’Agostino, on Sunday 22nd, you can listen to “Dies Iræ”.
Concerts in the Amendola and XXII Aprile parks, dance and theater at the Resistenza park and the Ferrari park. Meetings, cinema and music in sports clubs
The Modenese summer also spreads to the parks, green areas and sports centers of Modena which offer music, meetings, cinema and games.
Italian singer-songwriters are celebrated at Parco Amendola: from the unforgettable Fabrizio De André to whom the tribute scheduled for Saturday 20 July is dedicated with “I Calaluna live” and curated by Modena Terzo Mondo, to Ivan Graziani, with the most beautiful songs proposed by the Roberto Romanelli band Saturday 27 July. Lucio Battisti will also be remembered, with the tribute concert by Enrico Baraldini and Matteo Cariani on Saturday 3 August, and Augusto Daolio, on August 15th with “A Nomad like so many of us”.
At the Parco della Resistenza, dances, fairy tales, an original Hamlet with guitar, Macbeth, and aperitifs among the rows, always with entrance and meeting point from via Ancona and, at the Ferrari park, Thursday 25 July, appointment with the theater-circus and the show “The world beyond”.
At the Polisportiva Villa d’Oro, in via del Lancillotto, cinema is the protagonist. The program is full of films on offer: quality films starting on Thursday 4 July, from “Two Days and a Night” by the Dardenne brothers, to “A Sofa in Tunis”. All screenings have free entry with an Arci membership card.
Polisportiva Morane hosts the “Wave Experience”, a festival of emerging bands, on four different weekends. We start on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th July, continuing on Sunday 21st and Monday 22nd July. The festival continues on Saturday 31 August and Sunday 1 September, and concludes on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 September. And the Polivalente San Damaso is also looking for new musical talent with a talent show on August 4th.
The program also includes the Garden of Euphonia with theatrical improvisation shows under the stars, the Ovestlab space with an initiative dedicated to what has disappeared from the artisan village, the Lòdola space with GiocaModena, the history of Modena with board games, the Spazio Nuovo with a storytelling and theater workshop, and EstaOff with a DJ set.
The events also extend to the hamlets: among others, “Mondays at Valeria’s House” in San Donnino with music, wine and pizza tastings, walks on the embankment, literary presentations. After the preview in June, the first appointment is with Tommy Togni and his show “Per un punche di canzone”. The shows continue throughout the summer and end on Monday 2 September with the artist Sabrina Gasparini presenting “Ornella, la desire e la madness”.
Finally, in September (Friday 13th and Saturday 14th) there will be the Parenti Tour at “Villanova Park”: music, food and markets organized by Parenti tour.
