After a 16-year absence, the historic Feast of the Four Altars finally returns to Torre del Greco, strongly supported by the municipal administration led by Mayor Luigi Mennella. This centuries-old celebration, combining tradition, art, and culture, returns with a rich and varied program, bringing the city's ancient traditions back to center stage.
“How can you not be moved by our traditions, by the many memories we've had since we were kids?” said Mayor Luigi Mennella. “We imagined a new festival when no one believed it. I must thank all the artists who participated: we're putting Torre del Greco back at the center of culture, at the heart of Campania, and we're bringing our traditions to everyone else. Our intention is to bring as many people from out of town as possible. I've been receiving countless phone calls for some time now, even from fellow citizens who no longer live here. It was wonderful to hear from people even from Little Italy, in America. They wanted to know the dates to join us and share this extraordinary experience with us.”
This year's Feast of the Four Altars is structured around four main themes: Corpus Christi, Identity, Tradition, and Baronial Redemption. "These themes also inform the extensive program of events," explains artistic director Gigi Di Luca. "The celebration is about joy, sharing, and a new beginning of participation. In every sound, word, gesture, sign, color, and embrace, there is a coming and going. It's a journey of emotions that inevitably and fortunately leads us to reflect on the Body of Christ, on social redemption, on new identities, on the value of tradition, and on peace and brotherhood."
The Festival program, which began in May with activities in schools, will unfold through alleys, squares, historic buildings and the municipal villa. The event will include concerts, theatrical performances, aerial actions with stilts and fires, dance, tableaux vivants, musical bands, street parades, street artists, conferences, exhibitions and much more. A special tribute will be dedicated to the maestro and set designer Raffaele De Maio, who recently passed away, with exhibition panels in Via Roma.
The Altars and Carpets of colored sawdust, true symbols of the festival, will once again be protagonists. The Altars will be placed in Piazza Luigi Palomba, Piazza Santa Croce, in the external area of the Palazzo Baroniale and in Corso Garibaldi, created by the masters Alfonso Raiola, Filippo Romito, Antonino Ammendola and Francesco Scognamiglio. The Carpets of colored sawdust will be exhibited at the Church of San Filippo Neri, the Church of San Michele, the Church of the Santissimo Rosario and the Palazzo Baroniale, works by Raffaele Panariello, Antonio Caso, Vincenzo Borrelli and Sergio Eco.
This year, the Festival will also host a delegation from Barcelona, which will create a personalized installation of the Catalan Corpus Christi. Ample space will be given to local productions and territorial artistic realities, inviting young musicians, amateur theater companies and professional artists from Torre del Greco to propose original texts inspired by the four thematic points of this edition.
The Festival will open on Friday, July 19th at 19:30 pm at Palazzo Vallelonga with “Il Riscatto Baronale”, a musical theatrical reading based on the text by Gennaro Vitiello. On Sunday, July 21st, three amateur theatre companies from Torre del Greco will perform the Festival on stage in various parts of the city. Also on Sunday 21st, in the Villa Comunale, the saxophonist Daniele Sepe will present his show “Sepè Le Mokò”, followed by Ambrogio Sparagna with “I Canti del Corpo d'Amore”.
The musical program includes the concert of the Banda Cittadina – I Corallini on Friday, July 19th, followed by the Forum Young Festival. At 22 pm, in via Comizi, there will be a concert by Max Gazzé with the Calabria Orchestra. On Saturday, July 20th, at 22 pm, Enzo Avitabile & i Bottari di Portico will perform in via Comizi, preceded by the meeting “Meglio 'na tammurriata che 'na guerra”. On Sunday, July 21st, at 22 pm, it will be the turn of the live La Maschera, while the traditional fireworks at the port will close the great Festival.
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