E fu sera e Fu mattina

“Evening came and morning came”
In Martina Franca, a journey through art, fashion, music, and thought

Some projects develop like maps, others like stories. “Evening came and morning came” belongs to the second dimension: a cultural pathway that unfolds in time and space, guiding Martina Franca from April 30 to June 6, 2026, through 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 presents “Elogio della bellezza sostenibile” in the noble rooms of the Palazzo Ducale. This is a narrative told through images and creations that traverse eras and imaginaries: garments, costumes, and objects inspired by Dante, Andy Warhol, Basquiat, Arnaldo Pomodoro, and extending to the most recent experiments related to artificial intelligence. It is a living archive, capable of restoring continuity between tradition and innovation.
Literature finds its place in the program as a space for reflection and storytelling. The presentations guide the audience through paths that touch on biographies, contemporary anxieties, and collective memories: from the last hours of Edith Piaf recounted by Teresa Caricola, to the inner landscapes and pathways of medieval pilgrimage evoked by Marino Pagano and Angelo Palmieri, to the writings of Rossella Dentuto, which navigate 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 is the curator of the cultural column “Librinstreaming,” in collaboration with Tony Vinci, who will cover all the 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: pieces created for singing education, here reinterpreted in a non-filological manner. Almost entirely in modern premiere, the program invites rediscovery and enhancement of the historical-musical heritage of the territory, while the sounds of Simon Armenise and the performances of Luna Dragonieri with the project TuaSorellaMinore create sound environments where electronics and video art engage in an immersive dialogue.
In addition to the artistic events, the program opens spaces for in-depth exploration and research. Meetings dedicated to the relationship between art, science, and spirituality, along with reflections on the persistence of the magical in Apulian popular culture, bring back into focus a dimension of knowledge that is rooted in the territory, involving the Museo Etnografico "Alfredo Majorano," a commendable civic institution in the Ionic area, established in 2003 to safeguard and enhance the demological collection named after the famous Taranto scholar; indeed, the exhibited specimens narrate a precise story about magical-religious rituals and popular traditions of the area dating back to at least the 18th century. The event recounts the research project of Maria Grazia Carriero, which is configured as an interdisciplinary investigation that uses contemporary art codes to explore and document the popular beliefs still alive in the Apulian territory. Through a survey lasting about two years, the artist has employed dialogue as the primary investigative tool, gathering extensive video and photographic documentation in the streets and homes of numerous municipalities in the provinces of Taranto, Bari, Brindisi, Lecce, and Foggia.
The core of the research is the entity known as laùru (or local variants such as jurj’, avurie, scarcagnulu, or scazzamurrieddhu), an ambivalent “little spirit” that inhabits the collective memory of communities at risk of extinction. The investigation goes beyond mere ethnographic collection and transforms testimonies into works of art, installations, and videos (such as the works Darkness and Parole a Sud), where the documentary and "rough" nature of the footage aims to restore the freshness and pathos of everyday encounters.

Exhibitions, displays, and cultural walks complete the journey, offering additional opportunities for engagement. Training in the fashion sector with the Fondazione Academy MITA Moda presents, in the evocative spaces of the Palazzo Ducale in Martina Franca, an exhibition dedicated to the contemporary reinterpretation of Bisset's Carmen. The setup showcases a selection of outfits created by students of the Academy, who modernize the imagery of the opera by blending theatrical aesthetics with contemporary sensibilities. The focus is on the sartorial dimension of haute couture, expressed through refined craftsmanship, material research, and attention to detail, giving life to creations that engage between tradition and innovation. The exhibition of popular musical instruments and guided itineraries helps construct an extensive narrative capable of involving diverse audiences.
The project is realized with the economic sponsorship of the Municipality of Martina Franca and the moral sponsorship of the Puglia Region and the Province of Taranto, conceived by the Fondazione Caracciolo De Sangro, Aps Federico II, Aps Liberuomo, and Vallisa.
The initiative “Evening came and morning came” thus becomes a time to inhabit. Martina Franca embraces this movement and returns it through its spaces, its layers, its openings. A narrative that develops day by day, allowing connections, encounters, and new perspectives to emerge.