From September 1 to 11, 2026, Pisa’s Giardino Scotto will once again become the beating heart of the city with the sixth edition of the Pisa Scotto Festival, an event that blends culture, entertainment, and current affairs. This year, the festival once again offers a calendar of events tailored to diverse audiences, set against the picturesque backdrop of one of the city’s most beloved locations.
The Festival features a program ranging from literature to theater, from music to journalism, while also highlighting the region’s finest products. The schedule includes events from September 1 to 11, such as tastings, book presentations, theater performances, music, and discussions on changes in the world of journalism.
Kicking off the festival on Tuesday, September 1, at 6:00 pm, will be “I Pisani più schietti allo Scotto” a tasting of local delicacies organized by FISAR—the Italian Federation of Sommeliers, Hoteliers, and Restaurateurs, Pisa Historical Delegation. The event will return on Monday, September 7, at 6:00 pm, reaffirming the program’s commitment to promoting awareness and appreciation of local products. The tasting is titled “Summer Red: Four Wines to Rediscover Red Wines During the Summer Season.”
Wednesday, September 2nd, will instead focus on the figure of Saint Francis and the relationship between literature, poetry, and spirituality. At 6:00 pm, Angelo Piero Cappello's book, The Saint and the Poet, will be presented. Myth and Rite of Francis in Gabriele D'Annunzio, published by Ianieri Editore. Cappello is a scholar of Italian literature and the author of numerous works dedicated, among others, to Dante, Pirandello and especially Gabriele D'Annunzio. Journalist Chiara Cini will be in conversation with him. At 9:00 pm the theme will continue on stage with “Dante meets Francesco. A journey between poetry and holiness”, a theatrical show written and performed by Marina Mariotti. A graduate in Literature, a graduate in opera singing, and for fifteen years a choir artist at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Mariotti has dedicated a significant portion of her work to the Divine Comedy, producing hundreds of performances on Dante's songs and creating a personal formula of “TeatroDivulgazione”, which uses the language of the stage to introduce audiences to major cultural themes.
Thursday, September 3rd at 6:00 pm space at “Women. Stories of War, Life and Love”, a performance by and with Fausto Biloslavo and Andro Merkù. Biloslavo is one of Italy's most experienced war reporters: he began covering international conflicts in the early 1980s from Lebanon, subsequently working in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Iraq, and numerous other fronts. In 1987, during a report in Afghanistan, he was captured and remained a prisoner for seven months. Alongside him, Merkù will bring his own experience as an author and performer, helping to construct a story in which news, memory and the language of entertainment meet.
Friday, September 4th, will be a day entirely dedicated to Galileo Galilei. At 6:00 pm, Corrado D'Elia will present the book Galileo, Beyond the Stars, published by Edizioni Ares, in conversation with Alessandro Rivali. D'Elia, an actor, director, and playwright trained at the Paolo Grassi School of Dramatic Arts, is the founder of the Teatri Possibili project and has directed theaters, festivals, and numerous productions throughout his career.
At 9:00 pm, D'Elia himself will take the stage with the theatrical show “Galileo, oltre le stelle”, produced by the Corrado d'Elia Company: a second moment that will take the figure of the Pisan scientist from the written page to the theatrical dimension.
After the return of the “I Pisani più sfietti allo Scotto” tasting on Monday 7th at 6:00 pm, on Tuesday 8th September at 9:00 pm the Scotto Garden will transform into a major musical stage with the “David Bowie Show” by Andy & The Bowieness, a tribute concert to David Bowie embellished by the presence of performers from the Lindsay Kemp Company, including Daniela Maccari and Ivan Ristallo.
Their presence creates a particularly significant connection to Bowie's artistic universe through Lindsay Kemp's theatrical legacy. Pisan Daniela Maccari has been Kemp's prima ballerina, choreographer, and close collaborator since 2009. She graduated in Classics from the University of Pisa and has also collaborated for many years as a dancer and choreographer with the Teatro Verdi in Pisa. Ivan Ristallo, dancer, actor, director and dance theatre teacher, is a principal dancer with the Lindsay Kemp Company and was chosen by Kemp himself as the protagonist of his version of the Histoire du soldat. Today both continue to carry on the creative and performing heritage of the British maestro.
Current events and information transformations will characterize the final part of the Festival. Wednesday, September 9th at 6:00 pm, the meeting “The New World of Media. In search of journalistic value on new platforms” will see Pietro Forti, of La Nuova Europa, and Gino Zavalani, editorial director of Esperia, face off. At the heart of the debate will be the new ways in which news is produced and disseminated, the relationship with digital platforms, and, above all, the need to preserve the authority of journalistic work in an ever-changing information ecosystem.
Thursday, September 10th at 9:00 pm, space for the city's history and identity with “San Ranieri dell'Acqua. From youthful excesses to glorification”, a musical comedy, directed by Marco di Stefano, dedicated to the patron saint of Pisa. An event that, through music and theater, will retrace in an original way the human and spiritual story of Ranieri Scacceri, a figure deeply linked to Pisan history and tradition.
Closing this sixth edition, on Friday, September 11th at 6:00 pm, will be “The Revenge of Journalism. Beyond manipulation and fake news”, with Marcello Foa interviewed by Deputy Mayor Filippo Bedini. Foa has extensive experience in Italian and international journalism: hired at Il Giornale by Indro Montanelli, he served as editor-in-chief of Foreign Affairs and subsequently as a special correspondent, covering, among other things, important international political and electoral events; from 2018 to 2021, he was president of RAI. The comparison will address some of the most sensitive issues in contemporary information.
All events at the Pisa Scotto Festival 2026 are free and without reservations, subject to availability, with only three exceptions:
The two tastings “I Pisani più franki allo Scotto”, scheduled for Tuesday 1st° and Monday 7th September at 6:00 pm, will be limited to a maximum of 150 participants and will require mandatory reservations via Eventbrite, accessible from the Teatro di Pisa website. The limit of 150 participants for each tasting is also indicated in the official program.
For the September 1° tasting, reservations will be open starting today; for the September 7 tasting, reservations will be available starting Monday, August 31st at 9:00 AM.
The show “San Ranieri dell'Acqua will also be subject to reservations via Eventbrite. From youthful excesses to glorification”, scheduled for Thursday, September 10th at 9:00 PM. The opening date of reservations will be communicated later.
The Pisa Scotto Festival thus confirms itself as one of the most vibrant festivals of the Pisan cultural season, a place where the city can gather to share experiences, knowledge, and emotions. Eleven days in which the Scotto Garden will host books, music, theater, journalism, history, and local flavors, maintaining the Festival's vocation since previous editions: offering entertainment opportunities but also spaces for discussion and reflection, open and accessible to the city.
