Notte d'Organo
An international organ festival in Asti Cathedral: four Friday-evening concerts between late July and late August on the cathedral's two historic organs, leading up to and following the feast of the Assumption.
Why it's special
Asti Cathedral has two historic organs side by side near the presbytery, a delicate Neapolitan-school instrument by Liborio Grisanti from 1768 and a powerful Serassi organ built in 1844 and enlarged in 1865, and the festival was created to let people hear both. Each summer organists from Italy and abroad play them in free evening concerts, and it's a chance to see the cathedral at night.
Programme · 2026
17th edition, four concerts at 21:00, free entry. Artistic director Daniele Ferretti.
- Entry is free and all concerts start at 21:00.
- The cathedral is in Piazza Cattedrale, in the old town.
Notte d'Organo ("organ night") was the idea of don Paolo Carrer, then parish priest of Asti Cathedral, and it has been held every summer since 2010. It was meant to do three things: bring the cathedral's historic organs back into use, frame the feast of the Assumption on 15 August, and give people a reason to visit the church in the evening.
The cathedral has two organs near the presbytery, and the concerts usually use both. The older one, built by the Neapolitan maker Liborio Grisanti in 1768, has a light, delicate sound. The Serassi organ, built by the Serassi brothers of Bergamo in 1844 and enlarged in 1865, is a large nineteenth-century Italian instrument with a wide range of colours and dynamics. Each year four organists from Italy and abroad choose programmes that suit one or both instruments.
The concerts are on Friday evenings at 21:00 and entry is free. See what else is on in Asti.
Past editions
| Year | Dates | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 31 July, 7, 21 and 28 August 2026, 21:00 | 17th edition, four concerts at 21:00, free entry. Artistic director Daniele Ferretti. Fri 31 July – Ferruccio Bartoletti (La Spezia): live organ improvisation to the restored 1918 silent film 'Frate Sole' on the life of St Francis of Assisi Fri 7 Aug – Roberto Mucci (Bergamo): Gabrieli, Speth and Stanley on the Grisanti organ; Beauvarlet-Charpentier, Mayr, Padre Davide da Bergamo, Petrali, Rinck and Bossi on the Serassi Fri 21 Aug – Przemysław Kapituła (Warsaw): Muffat, Scheidt, Padre Davide da Bergamo, Beethoven, Pękiel, Johannes of Lublin, Nowowiejski and Bach Fri 28 Aug – Arno Hartmann (Bochum): Fischer, Reincken, Seixas, Bach, Frei Jacinto do Sacramento, Valeri and Spergher |
| 2022 | 29 July, 5, 19 and 26 August 2022, 21:00 | 13th edition: Ángel Hortas (Spain), Markku Mäkinen (Finland), Fredrik Albertsson (Sweden) and Eugenio Maria Fagiani (Italy). |