From 2nd to 10th September, Palau will host the International “Isole che parlano” Festival: concerts, photography, and tastings for a 360-degree immersion in Gallura.
Under the usual artistic direction of Paolo and Nanni Angeli, the International Festival reaches its 27th edition with the forward-looking spirit of uniting, in a continuous dialogue, past and present, landscape and culture, tradition and avant-garde.
An exceptional free event, supported by Delphina hotels & resorts, which promises to amaze from 2nd to 10th September with musical performances, photography, and flavours, appealing to both adults and children. With a strong international focus, it features some of the most interesting expressions of the avant-garde music scene and performances in the most beautiful locations along the coast and inland Gallura.
The event will be hosted in the centres of Palau, Arzachena, La Maddalena, and Luogosanto, against the backdrop of archaeological sites, natural monuments, beaches, lighthouses, forts, and rural churches. Numerous tastings of Sardinian food and wine specialities will also be offered during the scheduled events.

The festival kicks off on 2nd September with two previews “Waiting for Isole che Parlano” in Arzachena and Luogosanto. The town on the Costa Smeralda will host the electroacoustic guitarist and composer Stefano Pilia, who will present his new project titled Spiralis Aurea Trio alongside musicians Alessandra Novaga and Adrian Utley, in a sunset concert at the evocative Coddu Vecchiu giants’ tomb in Arzachena.
On Sunday, 3rd September, the event moves to the countryside of Luogosanto at the archaeological site of Palazzo di Baldu, where Matteo Leone Quintet will perform Raixe, a new album that celebrates the Tabarchino, the native language of Matteo Leone, who was the overall winner of the Premio Parodi in 2021 and a finalist at the Festival Musicultura 2022.

After the preview, Isole che Parlano di musica is set to deliver a rich calendar of concerts from 7th to 10th September. Against the backdrop of Porto Faro, Talmone Battery, the rural church of San Giorgio, the natural monument of Roccia dell’Orso, and Cala Martinella in Palau are just some of the locations where international artists like Duo IN, composed of musicians Sun Mi Hong (drums and electronics) and Alistair Payne (trumpet and electronics), will perform. On 8th September, they will create a jazz-inspired dialogue with two voices in symbiosis with the waves of Cala Martinella.
On Saturday, 9th September, in the setting of the rural church of San Giorgio, the concert “Il primo canto” will take place, featuring Raúl Cantizano (Spain), who, with his prepared flamenco guitar, is one of the most important figures in the contemporary Spanish scene linked to traditional Andalusian music, but with an experimental approach.
On the same day, another must-see event is “Di Granito” – Traditional music between the sacred and the profane, a concert by Cuncordu Jorghi Matteoli de Ovodda and Tenore Santu Pretu de Locula, who will pay homage to Pietro Sassu, Mario Cervo, and Antonio Are in the evocative location of Roccia dell’Orso in Palau.

As every year, the much-anticipated sunset concert returns on the natural stage of Spargi island in the La Maddalena Archipelago. The stars of this edition are Da:lum, the duo founded and composed by musicians Suyean Ha on the gayageum and Hyeyoung Hwang on the geomungo, who will bring to Cala Corsara beach the unique sounds born from the dialogue between tradition and experimentation.
The 27th edition of the festival will conclude with the traditional Saluto al mare on the beach of Palau Vecchio.
On Thursday, 7th September, in the multi-purpose spaces of the Cine teatro Montiggia, the exhibition titled “From Piedmont to the Rio de la Plata” by photographer Paola Agosti will be presented. Born in 1947 in Turin, she has focused particularly on the faces and stories of the female world, explored the end of the peasant civilisation of the poorest Piedmont, documented the experiences of Piedmontese emigration to Argentina, and photographed the great protagonists of European culture of the 20th century, producing various exhibitions and numerous books on these themes.