During the organizational meeting held yesterday afternoon in the multifunctional hall of the Hoffmann Museum in Caltagirone, the Councillor for Culture, architect Claudio Lo Monaco, officially announced that in the first half of 2026 the “Festival of the Calanchi” will take place right in Caltagirone.

Yesterday’s meeting served as a crucial moment of discussion and planning, attended by Dr. Nadia Carboni, Director of the Italian Association of Ceramic Cities, and Dr. Matteo Zauli, Director of the Carlo Zauli Museum and creator of the original format of the Festival of the Calanchi and the Blue Clays.

The images of the meeting convey an atmosphere of strong collaboration: speakers seated at the table, an attentive audience, projections on the large screen, and the Hoffmann Museum transformed into an open project laboratory.

A new edition focused on the Calatine territory

The edition that will take place in Caltagirone in 2026 is inspired by the Romagna model of the Festival of the Calanchi, an event that brings together art, landscape, and community, enhancing natural environments characterized by calanchi formations and clays. The Caltagirone project aims to reinterpret this format, focusing on:

• the calanchi landscape of the Caltagirone area;

• the local ceramic tradition, one of the most important in Italy;

• the dialogue between contemporary art, craftsmanship, and nature;

• the involvement of associations, schools, artists, and citizens.

As anticipated during the meeting, the 2026 edition will feature widespread events, performances, cultural walks, workshops, thematic talks, and activities designed to build a bridge between the city’s natural and artistic heritage.

A first step toward a major cultural project

The meeting at the Hoffmann Museum has therefore marked the official start of the path leading to the creation of the Festival of the Calanchi – Caltagirone 2026, confirming the municipal administration’s commitment to investing in an innovative and strongly identity-driven cultural project.

“It is an extraordinary opportunity to tell the story of our landscape and our ceramics through a contemporary language,” Councillor Lo Monaco emphasized during the discussion.

With the announcement of the 2026 edition, the Hoffmann Museum is preparing to become the beating heart of an event that brings together art, territory, and community in a renewed and shared vision.