Featuring over 400 musicians, choral singers, and soloists from Greece and Italy, the 1st Magna Graecia Music Festival opened its doors on Friday, February 20, 2026. This landmark event is held at the historic Basilica dell’Immacolata, located in the heart of Catanzaro—the capital of Calabria and a city with deep Greek and Byzantine roots.
More than 200 Greek performers from Thessaloniki, Athens, Crete, Corinth, Xylokastro, and Karditsa joined forces with prominent musical ensembles and artists from Calabria. Together, they have created a unique cultural summit between modern Greece and the ancient “Great Greece” (Magna Graecia) of Southern Italy.
A symbolic opening at the Magna Graecia Music Festival
The festival commenced with a powerful, symbolic joint performance of the Byzantine “Kyrie Eleison” (Mount Athos tradition). Conducted by Nikos Efthymiadis, all participating Greek and Italian choirs sang in unison, a gesture highlighting their shared spiritual and cultural heritage.
Reconnecting deep roots
The primary mission of the festival is to revitalize the spiritual and cultural bonds between Greece and the Magna Graecia regions of Southern Italy, celebrating shared roots that date back to antiquity and the Byzantine era.
Through the lens of art and music, this inaugural festival aims to establish a permanent institution for cultural cooperation and historical memory, fostering a common future for the Mediterranean’s artistic community.
The event holds deep significance for the Greek Diaspora and the Hellenic-speaking communities of Calabria, Puglia, Sicily, Basilicata, and Campania, whose presence lends a profound sense of continuity to the proceedings.
A bridge of culture between Greece and Italy
Catanzaro, a city profoundly shaped by Greek civilization, serves as the perfect host for this initiative. The festival aspires to become a permanent bridge and a point of reference for the music and culture of the wider Hellenic world.
The festival is organized by the Municipality of Catanzaro in collaboration with:
- The Archdiocese of Catanzaro–Squillace
- The Calabrian Choral Association
- The Panhellenic Greek-Italian Association of Friendship and Cooperation
- The Panhellenic Federation of Choirs and Choral Directors
Related: Craco: The Greek Ghost Town in Italy’s Magna Graecia
