E Fu sera e fu mattina

Here is the English translation of the Italian text:

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“Evening Came and Morning Followed”
In Martina Franca, a journey through art, fashion, music, and thought

Some projects develop like maps, others like stories. “Evening Came and Morning Followed” belongs to this second dimension: a cultural path that unfolds in time and space, accompanying Martina Franca from April 30 to June 6, 2026, in an itinerary made of intertwined languages and shared visions. The program takes shape in the symbolic places of the city — Palazzo Ducale, Conservatorio Santa Maria della Misericordia, Biblioteca Isidoro Chirulli — transforming them into traversable spaces inhabited by experiences that connect art, fashion, music, literature, and research.

Opening the journey on April 30 is the presence of Regina Schrecker, a leading figure on the international scene, who will present “Elogio della bellezza sostenibile” (In Praise of Sustainable Beauty) in the noble halls of Palazzo Ducale. A storytelling piece through images and creations that traverse epochs and imaginations: garments, costumes, and objects inspired by Dante, Andy Warhol, Basquiat, Arnaldo Pomodoro, leading up to the most recent experiments related to artificial intelligence. A living archive capable of restoring the continuity between tradition and innovation.

Literature is integrated into the program as a space for reflection and narration. The presentations guide the audience through paths that touch on biographies, contemporary anxieties, and collective memories: from the last hours of Edith Piaf narrated by Teresa Caricola, to the inner landscapes and journeys of medieval pilgrimage evoked by Marino Pagano and Angelo Palmieri, up to the writing of Rossella Dentuto, which navigates between identity and transformation. The literary presentations will be led by Cinzia Cofano, a teacher, cultural operator, and writer who won the “Premio Adriatico. Un mare che Unisce” in 2024, and curator of the cultural column “Librinstreaming,” in collaboration with Tony Vinci, who will cover all the scheduled events with the cameras of Valleditrialivechannel.

Music permeates the entire project with a widespread presence. The piano of Maestro Paolo Palazzo and the voice of Manuel Amati in “Solfeggi Notturni” present the works of Aprile and Perla, among the most significant composers from Martina Franca: pages composed for vocal education and here reinterpreted in a non-philological reading. Nearly entirely in modern premiere, the program invites rediscovery and enhancement of the historical-musical heritage of the region, while the sounds of Simon Armenise and the performances of Luna Dragonieri with the project TuaSorellaMinore construct sound environments where electronics and video art engage in an immersive dialogue.

Alongside the artistic appointments, the program opens spaces for deepening and research. Meetings dedicated to the relationship between art, science, and spirituality, along with reflections on the persistences of the magical in Puglian popular culture, bring back to the center a dimension of knowledge that roots in the local heritage, with the participation of the “Alfredo Majorano” Ethnographic Museum, a distinguished civic institution in the Ionic territory, established in 2003 with the aim of preserving and enhancing the demological collection named after the famous Taranto scholar; the exhibits displayed at the Museum articulate a precise narrative around magical-religious rituals and popular traditions of the region dating back to at least the 18th century. The research project by Maria Grazia Carriero is configured as an interdisciplinary investigation that uses the codes of contemporary art to explore and document the living folk beliefs in the Puglian territory. Through a survey lasting about two years, the artist adopted dialogue as a primary investigative tool, gathering vast video and photographic documentation in the streets and homes of numerous municipalities across the provinces of Taranto, Bari, Brindisi, Lecce, and Foggia.

The focus of the research is the entity known as laùru (or with local variants such as jurj’, avurie, scarcagnulu, or scazzamurrieddhu), an ambivalent "little spirit" that inhabits the collective memory of communities on the brink of extinction. The investigation is not limited to mere ethnographic collection but transforms testimonies into works of art, installations, and videos (such as the works “Darkness” and “Parole a Sud”), where the documentary and "rough" character of the recordings aims to convey the freshness and pathos of everyday encounters.

Exhibitions, displays, and cultural walks complete the journey, offering further opportunities for exploration. Training in the fashion sector with the MITA Fashion Academy presents, in the suggestive spaces of Palazzo Ducale in Martina Franca, an exhibition dedicated to the contemporary reinterpretation of Bisset's Carmen. The setup proposes a selection of outfits created by the Academy students, who reimagine the opera's imagery in a modern key, blending theatrical aesthetics and current sensitivity. The sartorial aspect of haute couture shines through refined craftsmanship, material research, and attention to detail, giving rise to creations that dialogue between tradition and innovation. The exhibition of traditional musical instruments and guided itineraries contribute to constructing a widespread narrative that can engage various audiences.

The project is carried out with the economic sponsorship of the Municipality of Martina Franca and the moral sponsorship of the Region of Puglia and the Province of Taranto, and is conceived by the Fondazione Caracciolo De Sangro, Aps Federico II, Aps Liberuomo, and Vallisa.

The initiative “Evening Came and Morning Followed” thus becomes a time to inhabit. Martina Franca welcomes this movement and returns it through its spaces, its layers, its openings. A story that unfolds day by day, allowing connections, encounters, and new perspectives to emerge.

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