Between the slopes of Mount Etna and the Alcantara Valley, Italy’s first “Teatro in Vigna” lies

Between the slopes of Mount Etna and Alcantara Valley, a natural amphitheater nestled among vineyard rows lies, where the wines of the volcano arise. Its stage is carved from what was once terraced vineyards, and its backdrop features mountains, lava flows, and centuries-old pine trees. It’s not a dream, but almost, the first “Teatro in Vigna” by Sciaranuova di Planeta Winery, in Passopisciaro, where, from July, 26th to August, 2nd, the 2025 edition of the “Sciaranuova Festival” will take place, now in its edition No. 9, dedicated to “Piani Inclinati” - “Inclined Planes”.
In these times, when it’s hard to find a clear path through uncertainty, contradictions, and rare certainties, “Inclined Planes” evokes slanted trajectories, unexpected slips, and delicate instabilities, perfect metaphors for a festival edition that invites audiences to explore new perspectives through theater, music, and word, and to be carried along oblique paths between art and thought, in the unique landscape of Planeta’s volcanic winery, one of the key players in the “renaissance” of Sicilian wine, and a pioneer in investing in culture to promote the development of the territories where its wines arise, which, every year, organizes “Viaggio in Sicilia”, one of the first artist residencies among Italian vineyards, featuring site-specific contemporary art installations. Recently, it brought together a community of opinion leaders from various sectors of Italian made in Italy (including WineNews, ed) to launch the “Manifesto of Noto” for contemporary wine.
Music, and a keyboard, whether synth, classical, or cabaret, runs through every show. The festival opens with “La Meraviglia” by Sonia Antinori (July 26th), a story of science that drifts into legend and myth, standing at the crossroads between Enlightenment thinking and magical thought. It harks back to the Age of the Reason and the discovery of a glowing, perhaps even philosophical, stone. Then, “Degenerata” follows by and with Ernesto Tomasini (August 1st), a dive into the cabaret of the wild and experimental 1930s, seen as the ultimate expression of unrestrained, effervescent societies. Some interpret the rise of fascism and Nazism as a reaction to the excesses of those “cabaret years”. Finally, Ivan Talarico, voice of Radio3 (August 2nd), who will reread and reinterpret great and lesser-known authors, blending light and alternative music.
As Ottavia Casagrande, the festival’s artistic director (in an article written by her on cultural supplement Domenicale “Il Sole 24 Ore”): “the great strength of our festival lies in pushing people out of their homes - already a subversive act these days - toward new and unexplored territories, inviting them at sunset to a wild and wonderful place. They gather in a natural amphitheater to drink wine and watch a performance. It’s a place where, once night falls, darkness is absolute, lit only by the beams of the stage lights. A place where everything seems to unfold just as it did in ancient times, giving life to a collective ritual. I can’t imagine anything more deeply Dionysian”. In the background, a neon light installation entitled “Ettore Majorana” by Claire Fontaine displays a quote from Leonardo Sciascia’s novel about the physicist who mysteriously disappeared in 1938, and used to spend summers near this very place of which the artist highlights the connection between art, science, and territory: “he amused himself by pouring out and scattering the water of science on the ground before the eyes of those who were thirsty for it”.