Past event: the 9th edition of the Orbetello Jazz Festival ran from September 4 to 6, 2026. This page will be updated when the 2027 dates are announced.
Live jazz in Tuscany, nine concerts, and not a ticket to buy.
The Orbetello Jazz Festival 2026 ran from Friday, September 4 to Sunday, September 6, 2026, turning this lagoon town on the southern Tuscan coast into an open-air stage for three days of live music — all with free admission.
Now in its ninth edition, the festival spreads across two squares in Orbetello’s historic centre, with a programme ranging from jazz and swing to Italian songwriting.
This year, the entire festival is dedicated to the Scuola Toscana, bringing together established names from the Italian music scene, including Bobo Rondelli, Nico Gori and Mauro Grossi, alongside a younger generation of musicians connected to Tuscany.
Here is the full Orbetello Jazz Festival 2026 programme, plus practical information about getting to Orbetello and what else to see nearby.
Table of Contents
Orbetello Jazz Festival 2026: The Full Programme
Every concert is free to attend. The festival uses two venues in Orbetello’s historic centre: the Music Corner in Piazza del Plebiscito and the main stage in Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi.
| Date and Time | Venue | Act |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, September 4, 2026 – 6:00 PM | Music Corner – Piazza del Plebiscito | Melting Pot |
| Friday, September 4, 2026 – 7:00 PM | Music Corner – Piazza del Plebiscito | 4Ward |
| Friday, September 4, 2026 – 9:00 PM | Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi | Mediterrando, directed by Mauro Grossi |
| Saturday, September 5, 2026 – 9:00 PM | Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi | Bobo Rondelli & Nico Gori Swing 10tet |
| Sunday, September 6, 2026 – 6:00 PM | Music Corner – Piazza del Plebiscito | Samuel Genovese Quartet |
| Sunday, September 6, 2026 – 6:00 PM | Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi | Tommaso Mannelli Group |
| Sunday, September 6, 2026 – 7:00 PM | Music Corner – Piazza del Plebiscito | Margot Guerzoni Quintet |
| Sunday, September 6, 2026 – 7:00 PM | Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi | High Five! Quintet |
| Sunday, September 6, 2026 – 8:00 PM | Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi | Dario Cecchini Soulcheck |
Note the overlap on Sunday: the two stages run at the same time, so the 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM slots are doubled. If there is a band you particularly want to hear, pick your square before you set off.
The festival grew out of Rome’s historic Alexanderplatz Jazz Club and is programmed by artistic director Eugenio Rubei, with the support of the municipality of Orbetello. Rubei describes the aim as giving jazz back its original purpose: “music of everyone and for everyone”.
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Friday, September 4: Young Musicians and Mediterrando
The festival opens on Friday at the Music Corner in Piazza del Plebiscito, where two groups of young musicians will perform in collaboration with the Jazz Department of the Pietro Mascagni Conservatory in Livorno.
At 6:00 PM, Melting Pot takes the stage with Stefano Gregori on guitar, Lorenzo Fiaschi on tenor sax, Simone Pesi on double bass and Gianmarco Carlini on drums.
At 7:00 PM, it is the turn of 4Ward, a quartet featuring Alessandro Vasconi on piano, Luca Giberti on guitar, Luca Tonini on double bass and Riccardo Butelli on drums.
The evening then moves to Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi, where Mediterrando begins at 9:00 PM.
At the centre of the project is pianist Mauro Grossi, who also handles the direction, compositions and arrangements.
The expanded ensemble includes Luca Ravagni (alto and tenor sax, clarinet), Moraldo Marcheschi (tenor and soprano sax), Rossano Emili (baritone and alto sax, bass clarinet), Tommaso Iacoviello and Mirco Rubegni (trumpet and flugelhorn), Glauco Benedetti (trombone), Simone Pesi (double bass), Michele Vannucci (drums) and Federica Fiorentini (vocals).
Saturday, September 5: Bobo Rondelli Meets the Nico Gori Swing 10tet
Saturday has just one concert, but it is one of the headline events of the festival.
At 9:00 PM in Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi, Livorno-born poet and singer-songwriter Bobo Rondelli joins the Nico Gori Swing 10tet.
Clarinetist and saxophonist Nico Gori directs the ensemble and is also responsible for the arrangements.
The line-up includes Vladimiro Carboni (drums), Matteo Anelli (double bass), Federico Frassi (piano), Renzo Cristiano Telloli (alto sax), Francesco Felici (tenor sax), Tommaso Iacoviello (trumpet), Silvio Bernardi (trombone), Mattia Donati (guitar and vocals), Michela Lombardi (vocals) and Iacopo Crudeli (host and singer).
Expect Rondelli’s sharp, ironic songwriting set against the swing arrangements of Gori’s ensemble, in a performance moving between swing and Italian popular song.
Sunday, September 6: A Music Marathon on Two Stages
Sunday is the busiest day of the Orbetello Jazz Festival 2026, with five performances across the two stages.
At the Music Corner in Piazza del Plebiscito, the programme is organised in collaboration with the Jazz Department of the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence.
At 6:00 PM, the Samuel Genovese Quartet takes the stage, featuring Samuel Genovese on drums, Marco Cattarossi on bass, Lorenzo Tellini on piano and Dario Mazzoni on sax.
At 7:00 PM, the Margot Guerzoni Quintet follows with Margot Guerzoni on vocals, Milo Tozzetti on trumpet, Edoardo Arcangeli on piano, Luca Giachi on bass and Marin Iulian Ciobanu on drums.
At the same time, a second programme unfolds in Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi.
At 6:00 PM, the Tommaso Mannelli Group opens the stage with Tommaso Mannelli on sax and compositions, Mauro Sarti on electric guitar, Mattia Hagge on keyboards, Dario Lastrucci on electric bass and Alberto Della Pietra on drums.
At 7:00 PM, the High Five! Quintet follows with Rebecca Sammartano on vocals, Fabrizio Cortopassi on sax, Davide Zappia on keyboards, Giulio Barsotti on double bass and Lorenzo Petrucci on drums.
The festival closes at 8:00 PM with Dario Cecchini Soulcheck: Dario Cecchini on saxophones, flutes and vocals, Valentina Bartoli on Hammond organ and vocals, Marco Galiero on guitar and Matteo Cecchini on drums.
Spreading the performances across Orbetello’s historic centre is part of the festival’s concept. The idea is to bring music out into the town and make a genre sometimes perceived as niche more accessible to both residents and visitors.
The focus on the Scuola Toscana also gives the 2026 edition a strong regional identity, with space for both established artists and younger musicians who have trained and developed artistically in Tuscany.
What to Know Before You Go
Dates: September 4, 5 and 6, 2026
Where: Orbetello, province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany – Music Corner (Piazza del Plebiscito) and Piazza Eroi dei Due Mondi
Admission: free at every concert
Artistic direction: Eugenio Rubei, with the municipality of Orbetello
Both venues are located in Orbetello’s historic centre, making it easy to move between the two stages — especially useful on Sunday, when some performances take place at the same time.
How to Get to Orbetello
The railway station serving the area is Orbetello-Monte Argentario, on the coastal railway line, with connections towards Grosseto, Rome and other destinations.
If you want more flexibility to explore Orbetello, Monte Argentario and the surrounding Maremma, travelling by car can be a practical option.
If you are picking up a car at the beginning of a Tuscan road trip, see our guide to renting a car in Florence.
You can also read about my experience renting an electric car in Tuscany.
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Where to Stay and What Else to See Nearby
Stay close to the music – search hotels in Orbetello and nearby on Booking.com.
Orbetello has one of the most unusual settings in Tuscany. The town sits on a narrow strip of land extending into the lagoon that bears its name, facing the Monte Argentario promontory. An artificial causeway connects Orbetello to Argentario and divides the lagoon into two sections.
Early September is a good moment to be here: the sea is still warm, the August crowds have thinned out, and the beaches of the Argentario are a short drive away.
Just beyond the lagoon lies Monte Argentario, home to the seaside towns of Porto Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole, while the long sandy stretches of Feniglia and Giannella are among the coastal areas nearby.
Further up the coast, Castiglione della Pescaia makes an easy day trip, with a medieval walled centre above the harbour.
Inland, the ColleMassari winery is a benchmark for organic winemaking in this part of Tuscany, and an easy add-on if you are driving.
Three evenings, nine concerts, two squares and free admission. If your Tuscany itinerary takes you anywhere near the Maremma coast in early September, the Orbetello Jazz Festival 2026 is worth the detour.
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