June 10, 2026

BOOM BAM! Sunset Music in the Park 2026

From the lawns of BAM – Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano to the entire Portanuova district, a wave of sound spreads through the city, blending folk rhythms, contemporary influences and traditional music. Throughout June and July, BAM – Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, a project by Fondazione Riccardo Catella, is transformed into a vast open-air soundscape where music meets nature, creating opportunities to explore different places, cultures and communities. A free programme of concerts, performances, DJ sets and musical parades invites everyone to experience public space as a place for gathering, listening and shared participation.

BOOM BAM! Sunset Music in the Park is the format that welcomes audiences to four sunset concerts—18 and 25 June, and 2 and 7 July, from 8:00 PM—dedicated this year to the rich tradition of Italian music, reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. The artistic programme journeys across Italy’s diverse musical landscapes—from Salento to Romagna, from Milan to Naples—showcasing how folk traditions can evolve into contemporary forms of expression that resonate with audiences across generations.

Each event transforms the park into a vibrant and convivial setting where visitors can enjoy live music immersed in nature at sunset, accompanied by open-air aperitifs by Ratanà, closing DJ sets, and performances designed to engage the audience in a collective experience of energy, connection and celebration.

The series opens on 18 June with Extraliscio, the visionary project that brings the folk traditions of Romagna to BAM in a whirlwind of accordion, rock and popular poetry.
On 25 June, Camilla Barbarito & Grand Tabazù reinterpret the Milanese song tradition with wit and elegance, blending French influences with Dada-inspired touches.
The programme continues on 2 July with Bassolino, whose music combines hypnotic percussion, Arabic melodies, urban blues and cinematic atmospheres, creating an innovative sonic universe deeply rooted in Neapolitan culture.
The series concludes on 7 July with the Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, whose powerful reinterpretation of pizzica transforms this traditional dance and music of Salento into a thrilling contemporary experience.

June 10, 2026

BAM Summer Festival 2026

Over 500 musicians and dozens of flag-wavers, youth bands, street bands and marching bands from across Lombardy will gather in the heart of Milan for a full day of music: on Sunday the 21st of June, the Riccardo Catella Foundation presents the BAM Summer Festival, a huge open-air community celebration that will bring the botanical garden in Portanuova to life from morning until evening with a succession of live performances and parades. The highlight of the musical summer at BAM – Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, the initiative has been conceived and curated by Francesca Colombo, General Cultural Director of BAM, Fondazione Riccardo Catella, as part of the 2026 cultural programme dedicated to (Dis)Connections.

On International Music Day, BAM is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic with a day of festivities that highlights the democratic and social role of marching bands – one of the most widespread forms of musical and cultural education in the region, which still fosters a sense of belonging today. The BAM Summer Festival will feature a programme of pieces performed by Lombard bands, which, beginning with Mameli’s national anthem, will retrace the symbolic moments of Italian history, taking the audience on a musical journey through civic memory and collective identity, and transforming the park into a true space for active democracy and civic participation, offering a musical programme with a wide variety of repertoires and performance styles, including travelling bands, marching bands, youth bands, flag-wavers and stage concerts.

The BAM Summer Festival also marks the culmination of an educational programme run from February to June with a number of the city’s primary and secondary schools, in collaboration with Internazionale Kids, focusing on the themes of democracy, citizenship and active participation. The project has led to the creation of fanzines produced by the pupils with the support of their teachers, which will be presented to the public during the Festival alongside a space dedicated to recounting the creative process.

June 5, 2026

Abitare la Vacanza / Pineta Modernissima

From 3 to 5 July 2026, the third edition of “Abitare la vacanza” will take place. This architecture festival was created with the aim of promoting greater awareness of the cultural value of holiday homes designed by the masters of modern architecture, both in Mediterranean coastal settings and in mountain environments.

The festival, conceived by the cultural association plug_in in 2023 and curated by Emanuele Piccardo, launches a new format this year, set in an iconic holiday destination: the Pineta di Arenzano.

Born from the vision of two leading figures of 20th-century Italian architecture, Ignazio Gardella and Marco Zanuso, the Arenzano Pine Forest stands as an emblematic example of the integration of architecture, landscape and nature. The project was made possible thanks to the enlightened patronage of the Marquise Negrotto Cambiaso and the Marquis Marcello Cattaneo Adorno, who helped transform this retreat for Milan’s upper middle class into a laboratory of excellence for modern Italian architecture. The development plan drawn up by Gardella and Zanuso dates back to 1956 and celebrates its seventieth anniversary this year. Over time, some of the most important figures in Italian architecture have contributed to the development of La Pineta, leaving behind an architectural legacy of extraordinary value.

“Abitare la Vacanza / Pineta Modernissima” aims to showcase the Pineta, its architecture and its natural heritage through a programme of talks, readings and screenings. The festival will also provide an opportunity to explore the work of the masters of Italian Rationalism through a series of guided tours focusing on holiday architecture designed by, among others, Anna Castelli Ferrieri, Ignazio Gardella, Vico Magistretti and Gio Ponti.

Conceived as a multi-phase project, the programme will run from 2026 to 2028 with the aim of promoting the Pineta through photographic campaigns, studies and research dedicated to its architecture. The initiative will lead to the establishment of the Pineta di Arenzano Archive, intended to collect and make available online documents from photographic archives, public collections and private collections.

May 25, 2026

LongLake Lugano Summer City Festival 2026

From 9 to 26 July 2026, the LongLake Festival returns – the Summer City Festival of Lugano, which, with its infectious energy, will once again bring the Ticino city’s summer to life this year. Now in its sixteenth year, LongLake is today one of Switzerland’s largest urban open-air festivals: a multidisciplinary event that weaves together live music and major concerts, performances, street art, activities for children and families, dance, talks, workshops and the irresistible world of street performers.

An international event that combines quality music with a packed programme of free events, transforming the Swiss city into a veritable open-air stage. Once again this year, the Festival will centre on major concerts in Piazza della Riforma, ROAM concerts at the outdoor club in the Boschetto del Parco Ciani, and Blues to Bop in the city’s squares.

Among the first big names confirmed are Antonello Venditti, Chiello, Ernia, La Delio Valdez, Mari Froes, Motta and Tarrus Riley ft. Dean Fraser & Blak Soil. Of particular note will also be the prestigious collaboration between the Hamilton de Holanda Trio feat. Salomão Soares & Thiago “Big” Rabello and the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana.
The festival programme is further enriched by the already confirmed appearances of Amaro Freitas, La Combi, Leo Middea, MILLE, Oddisee & Good Company and Santamarea.

In the heart of summer, the Lugano LongLake Festival transforms the city’s green spaces and urban areas into a vast open-air stage, offering residents and visitors a rich array of opportunities for socialising, discovery and entertainment. For 18 days, numerous artists and guests will bring Lugano to life with a variety of events, offering a breath of fresh air in an exceptional natural setting, less than an hour’s drive from the metropolis of Milan.

April 24, 2026

Cremona Contemporanea 2026

From 23 to 31 May 2026, Cremona Contemporanea will take place, a festival dedicated to the visual arts which, through installations, exhibitions, performances, talks and events, transforms Cremona into a place of learning and discovery, fostering dialogue between contemporary art and the city’s historical and artistic heritage.

Now in its fourth edition, the initiative – organised by NOT Titled YET and promoted by the Department of Tourism and Events of the Municipality of Cremona, with the patronage of the Lombardy Region and the Cremona-Mantua – Pavia and in collaboration with Confcommercio Provincia di Cremona – remains a key event for the arts sector and an important opportunity to showcase Cremona’s cultural heritage, both in Italy and abroad.

Once again this year, Cremona Contemporanea continues its journey as a platform for knowledge and dialogue, consolidating an ever-wider and more diverse community of visitors, artists, curators and industry professionals, whilst at the same time renewing its format.

Among the main new features for 2026, Rossella Farinotti’s artistic direction will be supported by curators Valeria Mancinelli, Gioele Melandri, Gianluca Ranzi and Saverio Verini, who have been invited to contribute to the development of the exhibition programme. This broadening of perspectives introduces new angles and viewpoints, whilst always keeping the dialogue between the artists’ works and the city’s locations at the heart of the project.

April 9, 2026

BAM Circus – The Festival of Wonders in the Park 2026

From 22 to 24 May, Milan’s Biblioteca degli Alberi will be transformed into a vast open-air stage of pure wonder to mark the 5th anniversary of BAM Circus – The Festival of Wonders in the Park: a special edition that the Riccardo Catella Foundation is celebrating by offering the city a unique three-day event of live shows and multidisciplinary performances spread across public spaces, where contemporary circus, physical and puppet theatre, dance, breathtaking acrobatics and, for the first time, thrilling fire installations intertwine.

For its fifth anniversary, 28 of the most renowned international companies from 7 countries – France, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Mexico – will take to the lawns of the botanical garden in Portanuova, with over 70 free events open to all. On stage, 114 artists will bring to life evocative site-specific performances, including 4 national premieres and 5 Milanese premieres, inspired by a dialogue with nature and the enhancement of urban space – a defining feature of the Festival conceived and directed by Francesca Colombo, General Cultural Director of BAM, Fondazione Riccardo Catella.

Among the new additions are BAMoff at the Volvo Studio Milano, featuring the exhibition “Moira Orfei: Icon, Revolution, Spectacle”; workshops for professionals and enthusiasts led by artists from major international companies, alongside children’s workshops; and the “Circolo del Circo”, an open-air lounge with themed books, talks on the history of the circus, and meet-and-greets with the artists. There is also space for new talent with the BAM Community Talent, a contest dedicated to the city’s creative minds: the five selected winners will stage a brand-new show at BAM, born from a shared creative journey, following a tour of the city’s parks.

Highlights of the three-day programme include:

Friday 22 May: the spectacular acrobatic show ‘Möbius’ by Collectif XY, fresh from its success at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, followed by the immersive night-time experience ‘D’Arbre en Arbre’ by Cie Carabosse, a journey through nature and fire, making its Italian debut.
Saturday 23 May: the performance ‘Wild’ by Motionhouse, the spectacular show ‘Il Sogno di Ymir’ by Elementz Art (in its Italian premiere) and the musical circus solo ‘Play(ces)’ by Markas Liberman, the result of BAM Circus’s first artistic residency.
Sunday 24 May: the juggling and dance theatre show “Smashed” by Gandini Juggling and the grand finale with a travelling musical parade featuring Bubble on Circus, Stelzen Art, Gandini Juggling, Elementz Art and the Wind & Brass Brothers marching band.

March 19, 2026

Multi-Kulti BAM Spring Festival

The Riccardo Catella Foundation welcomes spring on Sunday 29 March with the Multi-Kulti BAM Spring Festival, a day of celebration in which dance becomes a means of connection, encounter and dialogue between different cultures, celebrating multiculturalism as a founding value of the city of Milan.

The first event in the new cultural programme of BAM – Biblioteca degli Alberi Milano, entitled “(Dis)Connessioni” and curated by Francesca Colombo, General Cultural Director of BAM, Fondazione Riccardo Catella, the spring festival renews BAM’s commitment to Refugee Week and involves leading solidarity organisations alongside a broad national and international artistic network.

Part of Refugee Week, the world’s largest festival dedicated to the creativity, contribution and resilience of refugees and people seeking protection, the Multi-Kulti BAM Spring Festival focuses on the value of relationships between different cultures, traditions and communities, transforming dance into a shared language capable of fostering connection and participation.

From morning to night, BAM’s large botanical garden in Portanuova comes alive with family workshops, masterclasses for professional dancers and brand-new performances ranging from urban dance to hip-hop, from ballet to breakdancing, and from African rhythms to Eastern rituals, transforming the park into an open-air mosaic of cultures, movements and communities engaging in dialogue with one another.

The day culminates in the grand, brand-new choreographed show “Patience”, produced by BAM in collaboration with the MILANoLTRE Festival and featuring students from DanceHaus.