Atina Jazz Festival, where music and history come together

Atina Jazz Festival was founded in 1986 and over the years has established itself as one of the most prestigious jazz festivals in Italy. Every summer the best jazz musicians in the world come to the square of the historic centre of Atina, to play in the ancient buildings and in the fascinating scenery of the Val di Comino.
In addition to the main stage, since 2004 the festival has opened up in the whole territory choosing, for its performances, places of natural and landscape beauty that are an integral part of the pleasure that the artists offer to the public. After the edition of 2009, in which the town of Atina had over 15,000 visitors, the winter version of the festival was also born.
Atina Jazz embraces all musical genres and has become over the years a "total" festival. Alongside the novelties and avant-gardes of the Italian and foreign jazz scene, it also offers concerts of popular music, Italian songwriting, Portuguese fado and blues.
From 2014 the artistic direction passed to a well-known character of the music scene, Antonio Pascuzzo, who created the project "Do Ut Jazz", a winning formula to expand the activities and encourage people to participate. In fact, the people who dine in a restaurant on one evening or stay in a hotel or B&B participating in the project get free concert tickets.
Those who go to eat at a restaurant in Atina can get up from their table with 5 minutes to spare and reach the concert where the staff will keep their seats free. The idea is to encourage people to bring children, families - everyone closer to jazz.
Thanks to this original artistic direction, the event received the prestigious national MEI award (Meeting Etichette Indipendenti) and the attention of the national press.
The Do Ut Jazz project enhances music and people, allowing free participation in all the concerts and events of the festival. In the program of the winter version of the festival there are also exhibitions, screening of documentaries, presentation of books, a white night with cover band and dj-set, a photo contest, a tourist trip to discover an interesting place in the Val di Comino, tasting of traditional local products (such as Atina DOC wines and Picinisco's tasty Pecorino DOP cheese), and musical games with interesting initiatives for children.
This event, since its inception, has brought to Atina great names in music, such as: Michel Petrucciani, Chick Corea, John Scofield, Goran Bregovic, Mike Stern, John Patitucci, Tito Puente, Gilberto Gil, Stefano Bollani, Dave Holland, Peter Erskine, Ron Carter, Angelo Debarre, Dee Dee Bridgewater and many others.
Over the years, the musical programming has been curated in collaboration with the most important record companies in the world, including ECM, Jando Music and Cam Jazz.
Atina Jazz boasts twinning with foreign music colleges and prestigious relationships with the Saint Louis College of Music in Rome, the European Jazz Expo in Cagliari, the University of Cassino, the Licinio Refice Conservatory of Frosinone and collaborations with Radio1 Rai. This is why Atina Jazz is confirmed as one of the most important jazz festivals in Italy.
Atina Jazz Festival, moreover, is a reality awarded as the second best festival by the sector magazine Jazzit, has had more than 30 editions without interruption and is a highly anticipated event throughout central and southern Italy. So many surprises, a lot of waiting, growing success.
And as the founder Vittorio Fortuna said: "Fortunately there is the Jazz!".