13th edition
JULY 31 – AUGUST 5, 2025
San Gimignano

The 13th edition of Orizzonti Verticali once again opens up the city of San Gimignano to theatre, dance, music, and performance. These art forms take over the city’s spaces, transforming them into natural, unique, and creative stages, as the festival turns its gaze to new forms of art in dialogue with their origins and history.

Since its inception, the Festival has aimed to bring together different languages and generations of the performing arts, creating an “ordered chaos” that fosters encounters, collaborations, and shared visions.
This kind of cultural ferment is essential in our contemporary world, where human relationships and the ability to truly listen to one another are increasingly fragile. The urban layout of San Gimignano naturally encourages close proximity, forcing an inevitable dialogue among artists, critics, and the public. The city is infused with a new energy, blowing away the clouds on a horizon where civic life becomes more visible.

This year’s edition offers a rich lineup of events spread over six days with Accademia Chigiana, Atopos / Irene Stracciati, compagnia EgriBiancoDanza, Margherita Landi / Agnese Lanza, Nutrimenti Terrestri, Teatro Akropolis, Teatro Koreja, The Gate, Zaches Teatro and the new music project OffSound.

OV main focus is the Rocca di Montestaffoli, as a symbolic act of “defending our ideas,” although there will be forays into other parts of the city as well. This intentional “entrenchment” is an explicit artistic choice to regroup our thoughts and relaunch our vision.
For this reason, the image representing the Festival this year is a chrysanthemum, from the ancient Greek chrysos (gold) and anthemon (flower), literally “golden flower”, which carries multiple meanings. In Italy, it is most commonly associated with mourning and remembrance of the dead, due only to its autumnal bloom. However, around the world, and especially in the East, it symbolizes joy, happiness, longevity, and good fortune.
Not in my name – the chosen subtitle – reinforces and amplifies the meaning of this image in our contemporary reality.

 
 
Full programme at festival-orizzonti-verticali-2025
 
 
Orizzonti Verticali is a project by Compagnia Giardino Chiuso, with the support of Fondazione Fabbrica Europa as part of the regional project “Ente di rilevanza dello spettacolo dal vivo della Regione Toscana”, the Municipality of San Gimignano Culture Department, and Banca Cambiano, in collaboration with Fondazione Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Galleria Continua, Fondazione Musei Senesi/Opera Laboratori.