Ferrara: Buskers Festival

This August, if you find yourself in Emilia-Romagna take a train and walk through the historic streets of Ferrara and meet international street musicians as they perform various genres of music from around the world. The festival was originated by Stefano Bottoni, a native ferrarese, who was inspired by his visit to New York in the 1980s to see his own city become more welcoming to street musicians. After proposing the idea to the mayor, the festival soon became an international hit known even to the talented bolognese Lucio Dalla who would go on to perform in the festival in 1989 with Jimmy Villotti where they blended in with the crowd. Since the 1990s the festival has had a guest country for each year (a majority of the street musicians would come from this country). Not only is this a culturally rich event for all, but it is also part of Eco-friendly festivals with initiatives that promote free water distributions from the town’s aqueduct, the “Last Minute Market a Ferrara” where unsold items from the festival are gathered, shuttle and shared ride services.

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Photo credit: paPisc