This year, the Istroveneto Festival has reached its 15th edition, a milestone that those who began this adventure fifteen years ago never expected. The program has grown steadily over the years, this year including 18 events featuring our dialect in all its forms.

Special event for the 15th anniversary

The anniversary will be celebrated with a special event on Saturday, June 6th, in Piazza San Servolo in Buje, starting at 21:00 PM. The winners of the first 13 editions will take to the stage for a show full of surprises, memories, and emotions.

Tell me while singing

Dìmela Cantando, the festival of unpublished songs in the Istrian-Venetian dialect, now in its 14th edition, features 13 competing songs and maintains its three-evening format, beginning Saturday, June 13th in Tribano, in the province of Padua. The Italian leg will be followed by a stop in Slovenia, in Piazza Manzioli in Izola on Saturday, June 20th, concluding, as is tradition, in Buje on June 27th, with the grand finale where prizes for best song, best lyrics, and best arrangement will be awarded. The audience award will be chosen based on the combined audience votes from all three evenings. The Academia de ła Łengua Veneta award returns again this year.

We'll run up and down the stage

Eight evenings will be dedicated to the choirs and amateur dramatic groups of the Italian Communities, continuing the festival's mission to bring the festival to the local community. On Monday, June 8th, the curtain rises at the Buje Theater, kicking off the eight-act marathon. The CSZPP evening schedule is as follows:

Monday, June 8, 2026, BUIE, city theater

Tuesday, June 9, 2026 VERTENEGLIO, Italian Community

Wednesday, June 10, 2026, MATTERADA, Italian Community

Thursday, June 11, 2026 BUIE, city theater

Monday, June 15, 2026, CASTELVENERE, Italian Community

Tuesday, June 16, 2026 BUIE, city theater

Thursday, June 18, 2026 MOMIANO, Italian Community

Thursday, June 25, 2026 BUIE, city theater

All Coremo su e zo pe'l palco (CSZPP) evenings will start at 19:30 pm

Well done, boys!

On Saturday, June 6th, at 4:00 p.m., the City Council Chamber will host the awards ceremony for the winners of the "Bravi fioi" literary and video competitions. This year, 146 works were submitted for the literary competition and 25 for the video competition, demonstrating an ever-increasing interest among young people in literary and audiovisual production in the Istro-Venetian dialect.

Side Events

On Saturday, June 7th, at 15:00 PM at Palazzo Manzioli in Isola, the first briscola tournament will be held, organized by the CNI Youth Association, using the "Istriane" cards, recently published in collaboration with Modiano.

On Wednesday, June 17th, at 20:00 PM, we offer a concert by the Koper band “Calegarìa” in the atrium of the Open University in Buje.

On Friday, June 19th, at 20:00 pm, at the Buje Theatre, the Istrian Chamber Orchestra will perform “Storia de un soldato,” an Istro-Venetian translation of the great Igor Fëdorovič Stravinsky’s opera “Histoire du soldat.”

On Tuesday, June 23, at 19:30 PM, in the evocative setting of the park of the monumental cemetery of San Martino in Buje, "El gato coi stiviài," an Istrian-Venetian translation of "Puss in Boots," will be performed. The narration will be accompanied by the band of the Italian Community of Buje.

On Wednesday, June 24th, at 19:00 PM, the final concert of the Masterclass for Choir Directors will be held at the Italian Community of Krasica. This will be followed by the presentation of the Istrian-Venetian translation of the cookbook "Te go preparà," by the Youth Association of the Italian National Community.

"It will be a way to celebrate a major milestone, our festival's 15th anniversary, but also an opportunity to thank all the people who have helped it grow," says Marianna Jelicich Buić, head of the Culture Sector of the Executive Board of the Italian Union.

Organization, sponsorships and collaborations

The Festival is organized by the Italian Union, with the City of Buje and the Istrian Region. It enjoys the patronage of the Veneto Regional Council. Dìmela Cantando benefits from the collaboration of the CAN and the Italian Community "Pasquale Besenghi degli Ughi" of Izola, as well as the Municipality of Tribano (Padua). The CSZPP evenings are made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Italian Communities of Buje, Kaštelvenere, Momjan, Krasica, Brtonigla, and Matterada. It is made possible thanks to a financial contribution from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic, pursuant to Law No. 73 of 21 March 2001, as subsequently amended and extended, in application of the Conventions signed between the MAECI, the Italian Union, and the People's University of Trieste, and with the financial support of the Council for National Minorities (Savjet za nacionalne manjine), the Office for Human Rights of the Republic of Croatia (Ured za ljudska prava i prava nacionalnih manjina), the Istrian Region (Istarska županija), and the City of Buje (Grad Buje).

All information on the festival website:

http://www.istroveneto.com/