Pescara backs UNESCO bid for the tratturi: Transhumance Festival and

Pescara supports UNESCO recognition for the tratturi

The Municipality of Pescara has promoted renewed attention to the tratturi—historic drovers' roads—and is backing their candidacy as tangible UNESCO heritage. The initiative includes the Transhumance Festival, funded by the Region and staged across two days with free cultural activities.

According to the city council's Culture assessor, the aim is to highlight routes and traditions that, despite being obscured in parts of the urban landscape (for example the Rocca di Roseto - Frisa tratturo), remain central to local identity.

Main program and venues

• 9 May 2026 – Festival opening: exhibition “Popoli e terre della lana” at the Aternino library hub (free visit until 16 May); screening of Alessio Tessitore's Una storia lenta; start of shepherding crafts workshops.
• Ongoing activities – Workshops at the Museum of the People of Abruzzo (Museo delle Genti d'Abruzzo), free entry during the festival; readings and cultural performances focusing on textile traditions and oral memory.
• Evening of 9 May – Shepherd's dinner featuring local dishes, Abruzzo folk music and a DJ set.
• 16 May 2026 – Second festival day: presentation of Nino Marinacci's book Pastorizia e transumanza. Radici e protagonisti and closing concert with the Saltarello popular orchestra in Piazza Garibaldi (9:00 PM).

Why this matters

The tratturi candidacy seeks to acknowledge not only the physical routes but also the intangible heritage connected to transhumance: crafts, textile production, rituals and local knowledge. The festival serves to showcase these elements to the public and to foster a broader debate on safeguarding them.

Practical information

• Admission: most events are free of charge.
• Venues: Aternino library hub, Museum of the People of Abruzzo, Piazza Garibaldi and other public spaces in Pescara.
• Tip: check the local event schedule for exact times and any required bookings.