The Tuscan Sun Festival is an annual music and arts Festival that takes place within the intimate setting of the medieval town of Cortona, in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany. This lifestyle Festival offers an exciting program that includes not only world class concerts, but a daily program of events that explore fine arts, culinary & wine, wellness, and local culture & history.Each evening, concerts featuring some of the world's most distinguished artists are performed in the intimate setting of the Romantic-period theatre, Teatro Signorelli.
The Story of the Sun Festivals
In the 1990s, Barrett Wissman and cellist Nina Kotova had often discussed organizing an event somewhere in the world where friends could make music together in a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
As regular visitors and part-time residents in the Cortona area, Wissman and Kotova discussed their desire to bring together musicians, as well as artists from many disciplines, with their neighbour, Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun. Mayes suggested that Cortona might be the very location for such a gathering.Armed with the hope of breathing musical life back into a beautiful Tuscan town, combined with the first handful of enthusiastic international artists who routinely perform at the highest level, in 2003, the Tuscan Sun Festival was born.
Since that time, the Festival has matured into an annual event that continues to be artist-led while simultaneously embracing the proud spirit of the local community. Regularly presenting prominent musicians, the Festival became the first event of its kind to provide such a platform and combine it with a pure celebration of life so abundant in Tuscany. Now produced by the renowned arts management company IMG Artists, the Festival incorporates an array of ‘Festival Events’ which include fine art exhibitions, culinary events, wine tastings, lectures and other literary events, as well as the outstanding musical concerts. A number of the Festival Events showcase the talent of the local Cortona community, underlining the desire to keep the Tuscan Sun Festival part of Cortona’s family.
