The National Museum of Abruzzo in L’Aquila is participating in the 11th edition of Italian Jazz for the Earthquake Lands, the event that has brought and continues to bring the largest and most important representation of Italian jazz to the city of L’Aquila and the regions affected by the 2016 earthquake. This event offers tangible evidence of how culture and live performances contribute significantly to building and strengthening local communities.
This year’s theme, “Unexpected L’Aquila,” invites audiences to discover a city capable of surprising, reinventing, and transforming itself, inspiring an innovative approach that blends tradition, research, and experimentation. Following this guiding principle, the festival reinterprets the region from a fresh perspective, transforming fragility and memories into creative energy and symbols of collective rebirth.
The 2025 artistic direction is entrusted to highly prestigious professionals: Silvia Bolognesi (double bass player and composer), Luca D’Agostino (photographer), and Filippo D’Urzo (cultural organizer). Their work has given rise to a program that explores new collaborations between music and other artistic disciplines, such as photography, film, and dance, seamlessly integrating with the needs and traditions of the participating regions.
The 2025 edition will again feature 300 artists (including groups, choirs, bands, and orchestras) spread across 18 different venues in the city’s historic center.
The “Sounds within the Walls” project, aimed at offering visitors to the Mammoth at the National Museum of Abruzzo an immersive experience that allows them to explore the evocative atmosphere of the site through musical performances designed to showcase the unique acoustics of the unique spaces, will take place in the eastern bastion of the 16th-century Castle of L’Aquila (Viale Benedetto Croce) over two days with the following program:
Saturday, September 6
4:00 PM | Flavio Zanuttini – trumpet solo
5:00 PM | Emanuele Parrini – violin solo
Sunday, September 7
4:00 PM | Ferruccio Spinetti – double bass solo
5:00 PM | Tony Cattano – trombone solo
The following conditions apply:
The Jazz all’Aquila cultural association is offering 20 free seats for the concerts on September 6th at 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM at the event’s info point in Piazza Battaglione Alpini, from 10:00 AM on September 6th until 30 minutes before each concert, or until all available seats are filled. Those who make reservations will be able to take a guided tour of the mammoth half an hour before each concert.
On Sunday, September 7th, as part of “Domenica al Museo” (Sunday at the Museum), the Ministry of Culture initiative that allows free admission to state museums and archaeological parks on the first Sunday of every month, access to the 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM concerts will not require reservations, but will be limited to a maximum of 70 people.
The event “Italian Jazz for the Earthquake Areas” is organized by the Jazz all’Aquila association; it is promoted and supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of L’Aquila, and the Abruzzo Region, with the support of the main sponsors SIAE (Italian Society of Authors and Publishers) and NUOVO IMAIE (New Mutualistic Institute of Performing Artists), the contribution of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia l’Aquila, the technical sponsor Montarbo AEB industriale srl, and the many technical partners involved. It is organized in collaboration with the National Federation of Italian Jazz and sees the active participation of all its associated organizations.
The event also features collaborations with some of the most important cultural institutions in the area, such as MUNDA, the Alfredo Casella Conservatory, the MAXXI L’Aquila Museum, the Experimental Cinematography Center (Abruzzo branch), and the Solisti Aquilani.
