Creating a space capable of generating ideas and relationships, preserving memory and transforming it into living energy: this is the mission for 2026 of " Pintai Bisus ," a festival dedicated to poetry, music, storytelling and civil reflection that will return to liven up Quartu Sant'Elena from May 28th to June 5th , in the premises of the former barracks on Via Roma . Promoted by the Elenaledda Vox association as part of the traveling festival Mare & Miniere , the fifth edition will feature guests Simonetta Soro , Mauro Palmas , Melania Muscas , Andrea Andrillo and others across its four dates .
The first week
The event will begin on Thursday at 7:00 PM in the former barracks, with an evening dedicated to Quartu and its cultural landscape. It will begin with a public debate on the topic, not overlooking current critical issues and future prospects, but focusing the discussion on the vision of the city as a living cultural laboratory . Coordinating the event will be journalist and writer Giovanni Follesa , in conversation with director Jo Coda , archaeologist and cultural worker Patrizia Zuncheddu , painter Nicola Caredda , and author and professor Omar Congiu .
An evening of poetry and music will begin on Friday , opening at 9 pm with a special tribute to the art of Amelia Rosselli, thirty years after her death, entitled " Dear life that I lost... " The poet's revolutionary verses will be presented through readings and live music , in their sonic, corporeal, and rhythmic dimension, through the voice of actress and singer Simonetta Soro and the piano of the young Alessia De Prezzo , with the participation of writer Lorena Carboni . An acoustic and performative experience, capable of going beyond the written pages.
But a second musical act will also be on the programme, with the concert of the duo " A Los Maestros " to follow: combining the passionate sound of Fabio Furia 's bandoneon with the virtuoso guitar playing of Alessandro Deiana , the project will offer its tribute to the great couples of the music sica tango , such as those of Osvaldo Montes with Aníbal Arias and Julio Pane with Juanjo Domínguez . A journey into the intense and refined Argentine tradition, renewed with a contemporary sensibility.
The second week
The events will resume directly on Thursday the 4th , with a new double event starting at 9 pm with " Custodire la voce ": focusing on the voice as a locus of memory, identity, and vision , the three island authors Vanessa Roggeri , Elisa Pilia , and Melania Muscas will be the protagonists. Through their experiences and works, the connection between roots and the present, collective memory and introspection, legacy and transformation will be explored. In three different visions of Sardinia and storytelling , Roggeri's themes of identity will be intertwined with Pilia's pedagogical approach, passing through Muscas's Nuragic-inspired fantasy. Lorena Carboni will lead the discussion.
This will be followed by a concert by Andrea Andrillo , who will perform a live performance of the book-CD " Fortunate possibilita ," published in 2024 by S'Ard Music : a "chimerical" work, which combines the poems of Cagliari-born Alessandra Fanti with the singer-songwriter's songs, in songs designed to entertain and establish a genuine dialogue between the author and the audience . Recognized in just a few years as one of the most important voices on the Sardinian music scene, Andrillo has received important awards such as the Cervo Prize in 2021 and two Andrea Parodi Awards (Critics' Award and for Best Lyrics) in 2023. Joining him on the stage of the former Caserma will be a lineup that will include Fabrizio Lai (guitars), Silvano Lobina (bass) and Nicola Vacca (drums).
The festival will conclude with a grand finale on Friday the 5th , once again at 9 pm and entirely focused on music, in a concert celebrating the transformation of tradition , but also listening and dialogue between generations: it will be the moment for " Sighida ", a project by Mauro Palmas (singing lute and mandola) with the young Giacomo Vardeu (accordion), born in the context of Mare & Miniere and already evidenced by the album of the same name . Delving into the concept of "continuity" that lends the duo its name , Palmas and Vardeu start from the past to look to the future, between revisiting Sardinian folk music and European and Mediterranean sounds. Accompanying them, for the occasion in Quartu, will be the ensemble composed of Marcello Peghin (guitar), Lobina (bass), Marco Argiolas (clarinet), Alessandro Foresti (piano) and Andrea Ruggeri (drums), plus the special participation of Cuncordu and Tenore de Orosei .
A cultural garrison
In an event with entirely free admission , which this year too aims to be a necessary space for collective practice and a meeting between different artistic languages, the new edition will represent a moment of further rooting for "Pintai Bisus" in Quartu: this is also thanks to the contribution of the Municipality , the Region and the Fondazione Sardegna , in a collaboration with the Italian World Music Network and the online newspaper Blogfoolk .