E fu sera e fu mattina

“Evening came and morning came”
A Journey through Art, Fashion, Music, and Thought in Martina Franca

There are projects that develop like maps, and others like stories. “Evening came and morning came” belongs to the latter dimension: a cultural pathway 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 pathway on April 30 is Regina Schrecker, a prominent figure in the international scene, who presents “Elogio della bellezza sostenibile” (In Praise of Sustainable Beauty) in the noble halls of Palazzo Ducale. A story told through images and creations that traverse epochs and imaginaries: garments, costumes, and objects inspired by Dante, Andy Warhol, Basquiat, Arnaldo Pomodoro, up to the most recent experiments related to artificial intelligence. A living archive capable of reflecting the continuity between tradition and innovation.
Literature is incorporated into the program as a space for reflection and storytelling. 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 roads of medieval pilgrimage evoked by Marino Pagano and Angelo Palmieri, 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 is the curator of the cultural column “Librinstreaming,” in collaboration with Tony Vinci, who will follow all events in the program with cameras from 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 music of Aprile and Perla, some of the most significant composers from Martina Franca: pieces created for singing lessons and here proposed in a non-critical reinterpretation. Nearly entirely in modern premiere, the program invites a rediscovery and enhancement of the region's historical-musical heritage. Meanwhile, the sounds of Simon Armenise and the performances of Luna Dragonieri with the project TuaSorellaMinore create soundscapes in which electronic and video art interact in an immersive dialogue.
Alongside the artistic events, the program opens spaces for in-depth study and research. Meetings dedicated to the relationship between art, science, and spirituality, along with reflections on the persistence of magic in popular Apulian culture, bring to the forefront a dimension of knowledge that is rooted in the territory. This includes the participation of the "Alfredo Majorano" Ethnographic Museum, a commendable civic institution of the Ionian territory, established in 2003 to preserve and enhance the demological collection named after the famous Taranto scholar; the specimens displayed at the museum articulate a precise narrative around magical-religious rituals and popular traditions of the area dating back at least to the 18th century. The research project by Maria Grazia Carriero is configured as an interdisciplinary investigation that uses contemporary art codes to explore and document the living folk beliefs in the Apulian territory. Through an exploration lasting about two years, the artist has adopted dialogue as the primary investigative tool, gathering extensive video and photographic documentation in the streets and homes of various municipalities in 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 at risk of extinction. The investigation is not limited to mere ethnographic collection, but transforms the testimonies into works of art, installations, and videos (such as the works Darkness and Parole a Sud), where the documentary and "raw" nature of the footage aims to convey the freshness and pathos of daily encounters.

Exhibitions, displays, and cultural walks complete the journey, offering additional opportunities for engagement. The training in the fashion sector with the MITA Moda Academy Foundation presents, in the evocative spaces of the Palazzo Ducale in Martina Franca, an exhibition dedicated to the contemporary reinterpretation of Bisset's Carmen. The installation proposes a selection of outfits created by the academy’s students, who reinterpret the imagery of the opera in a modern key, merging theatrical aesthetics with contemporary sensibility. The sartorial dimension of haute couture is the protagonist, expressed through refined workmanship, material research, and attention to detail, resulting in creations that dialogue between tradition and innovation. The exhibition of traditional musical instruments and guided itineraries contribute to building a widespread narrative capable of engaging diverse audiences.
The project is realized 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 came” thus becomes a time to inhabit. Martina Franca embraces this movement and conveys it through its spaces, its layers, and its openings. A story that unfolds day by day, allowing connections, encounters, and new perspectives to emerge.