The Festival Venues
Region and Festival
To arrive at the Gulf of Poets is to enter a landscape that has never stopped earning its name. Byron and Shelley came here in the 1820s; before them Dante and Petrarch and after them Henry James, Virginia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence. Rugged cliffs, colourful villages, waters of unreasonable beauty. Few intended to stay long. Many did.
Born between the first morning light over the bay of Lerici and a deep curiosity for music, the Lerici Music Festival unfolds across this extraordinary territory as a journey through places, atmospheres and sound. Concerts move from the panoramic piazza beneath the Castello di Lerici to a fifteenth-century oratory in Sarzana, from historic villas and industrial spaces to a midnight beach with only sand, sea and music remaining.
To follow the festival is to discover the Gulf on its own terms. A curious spirit and openness to music are the only conditions needed to truly become part of it.
Accessibility
The beauty of the Gulf of Poets comes with its own particular geography: narrow streets, steep passages, historic centres and venues spread across bays, hills, beaches and medieval towns. Moving around Lerici and its neighbouring villages and from one festival venue to another is part of the experience itself and we strongly recommend allowing extra time between locations, especially during evening events and weekends.
Lerici’s and Sarzana’s historic centres have restricted traffic zones (ZTL) and limited access by car. Entering certain areas without authorization may result in automatic fines. Visitors arriving by car are therefore encouraged to use the designated public parking areas outside the centre and continue on foot whenever possible. Detailed parking information, maps, accessibility notes and venue-specific guidance are available on each event page.
Our team remains available throughout the festival to help visitors navigate the territory and organize the most comfortable routes between venues.
Arriving by car
The Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) of the Municipality of Lerici is active during the summer season, from 15 June to 31 August. It regulates access to the town centre and to San Terenzo during two daily time slots: 10:00–18:30 and 01:00–05:00.
The ZTL is not active during the evening concert times. For events at Villa Marigola that fall within the ZTL time slots, visitors may register their vehicle number plate in order to avoid a fine.
Cars may be left in the parking spaces reserved for the festival audience along the seafront, subject to availability, or in the paid car parks La Vallata and Erbetta.
Shuttle service
Shuttle 1 – for events at Villa Marigola
Departure points:
- Lerici Town Hall
- Entrance to Villa Marigola
- 21:15 concert → shuttle service circulating continuously from 20:00 to 21:00
- 11:00 concert → shuttle service circulating continuously from 10:00
Shuttle 2 and 3 – for the 21:15 event at Teatro degli Impavidi (Sarzana) and the 21:15 event at Ex Ceramiche Vaccari, Santo Stefano
Shuttle departures:
- 19:30
- 20:30
Departure points:
- Lerici Town Hall
- Entrance gates to Villa Marigola
Return service available after the performance.
About the Venues
SARZANA
TEATRO DEGLI IMPAVIDI
This beautifully decorated early 19th century theatre was constructed on the site of a Dominican monastery, an atmospheric venue for the haunting Benjamin Britten opera The Turn of the Screw based on a story by Henry James.
Santo Stefano Magra
AUDITORIUM VACCARI EX CALIBRATURA
A disused and repurposed ceramic tile factory, a fascinating location for music and theatre.
San Terenzo
SPIAGGIA DELLA MARINELLA
A sheltered bay around the headland of San Terenzo, on the sand with the sea gently lapping the beach at dawn and at midnight.
SARZANA
ORATORIO DI SANTA CROCE
Built in the 15th century, the interior remains intact, belied by the lack of a façade, as the church was built into the existing medieval fabric of the town.
Lerici
CHIESA DI SAN FRANCESCO
A medieval church outside the city walls and positioned with a view of the surrounding countryside, thought to have been founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. During the 17th century, Baroque-style elements were added, embellishing its more minimalist origin.
Lerici
PARCO SHELLEY
A delightful small park adjacent to the distinctive white villa where Percy Bysshe Shelley and his wife Mary rented rooms for their hedonistic stay in San Terenzo in the 1820s.
Lerici
CASTELLO – PIAZZA SAN GIORGIO
Located at the gates of the majestic fortress castle on the Lerici headland, this square offers a magnificent view: on one side, the Gulf of Poets and the gem-coloured town of Lerici; on the other, the rugged Maralunga promontory.
Lerici
VILLA MARIGOLA
On the brow of a promontory between Lerici and San Terenzo, its origins dating from the 17th century, this venue offers a magnificent panorama of the Gulf of Poets and is set in a stunning garden.
THE FESTIVAL VENUES
Gardens of the Villa Marigola
DESCRIPTION
Villa Marigola
Costruita sulla sommità del promontorio che separa le due insenature di Lerici e di San Terenzo, è circondata da un fitto bosco di lecci e offre una delle vedute più affascinanti sul golfo dei Poeti.
INFO
- OUTDOOR CONCERTS
- 130 SEATS
- SEAT MAP
- ACCESSIBILITY
- CONCERTS START at 9:15 p.m.
- ONLINE TICKET SALES
- INFO AND BOX OFFICE
- +39 379 1379677
CONCERTS START
The start of the concerts is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. It is kindly recommended to arrive in advance in order to take your seats.
HOW TO GET THERE
THE FESTIVAL VENUES
Gardens of the Villa Marigola
DESCRIPTION
Villa Marigola
Costruita sulla sommità del promontorio che separa le due insenature di Lerici e di San Terenzo, è circondata da un fitto bosco di lecci e offre una delle vedute più affascinanti sul golfo dei Poeti.
INFO
- OUTDOOR CONCERTS
- 130 SEATS
- SEAT MAP
- ACCESSIBILITY
- CONCERTS START at 9:15 p.m.
- ONLINE TICKET SALES
- INFO AND BOX OFFICE
- +39 379 1379677
CONCERTS START
The start of the concerts is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. It is kindly recommended to arrive in advance in order to take your seats.
HOW TO GET THERE
THE FESTIVAL VENUES
Gardens of the Villa Marigola
DESCRIPTION
Villa Marigola
Costruita sulla sommità del promontorio che separa le due insenature di Lerici e di San Terenzo, è circondata da un fitto bosco di lecci e offre una delle vedute più affascinanti sul golfo dei Poeti.
INFO
- OUTDOOR CONCERTS
- 130 SEATS
- SEAT MAP
- ACCESSIBILITY
- CONCERTS START at 9:15 p.m.
- ONLINE TICKET SALES
- INFO AND BOX OFFICE
- +39 379 1379677
CONCERTS START
The start of the concerts is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. It is kindly recommended to arrive in advance in order to take your seats.
HOW TO GET THERE
THE FESTIVAL VENUES
Rotonda Vassallo
DESCRIPTION
Rotonda Vassallo – Lungomare di Lerici
La Rotonda Vassallo è uno storico piazzale circolare situato al centro di Lerici. Built in the early 1900s, it offers a breathtaking view of the Golfo dei Poeti and serves as a popular venue for concerts, events and exhibitions.
INFO
- OUTDOOR CONCERTS
- 200 SEATS
- SEAT MAP
- ACCESSIBILITY
- CONCERTS START at 9:15 p.m.
- ONLINE TICKET SALES
- INFO AND BOX OFFICE
- +39 379 1379677
HOW TO GET THERE
THE FESTIVAL VENUES
Firmafede Fortress, Sarzana
DESCRIPTION
Fortress Firmafede-also called historically as Sarzana Fortress or La Cittadella-is a military fortification located in the heart of Sarzana’s historic center in the province of La Spezia.
INFO
- OUTDOOR CONCERTS
- 200 SEATS
- SEAT MAP
- ACCESSIBILITY
- CONCERTS START at 9:15 p.m.
- ONLINE TICKET SALES
- INFO AND BOX OFFICE
- +39 379 1379677
HOW TO GET THERE
THE FESTIVAL VENUES
Lerici Castle
DESCRIPTION
Lerici Castle is a fortification with a polygonal base that stands in a dominant position on the rocky promontory of Lerici Inlet, in the province of La Spezia.
The castle was built beginning in 1152 and underwent numerous transformations by the maritime republics, mainly by the Republic of Genoa and, to a lesser extent, the Republic of Pisa, which contended for possession of the castle in the mid-13th century because of its strategic location. With the last modification in 1555 the castle ended up taking on its present appearance when, at the behest of the Genoese Offizio di San Giorgio work was completed and, to commemorate the event, the plaque still visible today on the entrance portal was applied.
INFO
- OUTDOOR CONCERTS
- 200 SEATS
- SEAT MAP
- ACCESSIBILITY
- CONCERTS START at 9:15 p.m.
- ONLINE TICKET SALES
- INFO AND BOX OFFICE
- +39 379 1379677
HOW TO GET THERE
THE FESTIVAL VENUES
Opificio Vaccari
Santo Stefano di Magra
DESCRIPTION
New Opificio Vaccari for the Arts is an innovative project to convert the factories and industrial areas (an area of more than 180,000 square meters) that once housed Ceramica Vaccari in Santo Stefano Magra (SP), Europe’s largest ceramics factory in the 1950s, into a new multipurpose center with cultural and creative purposes.
INFO
- OUTDOOR CONCERTS
- 200 SEATS
- SEAT MAP
- ACCESSIBILITY
- CONCERTS START at 9:15 p.m.
- ONLINE TICKET SALES
- INFO AND BOX OFFICE
- +39 379 1379677
HOW TO GET THERE
