Summer has arrived, the temperature rises and we have a lot of events to recommend for anyone who doesn’t feel like hanging out at home and for all the tourists and residents who will fill our biggest and smallest cities. From North to South Italy, we propose you a great panorama of events, concerts and exhibitions of national and international level, from the most famous to the less known.

Let’s start from the great opera: from June 22 until September 2, six important operas take place for the 90th Opera Festival at the Arena di Verona: Don Giovanni, Aida, Carmen, Romeo and Juliette, Turandot and Tosca.

In Turin the Festival Teatro a Corte is on stage from July 6 to 22 within the beautiful locations of the Savoy residences in the surroundings of the city, where major international artists of figure and physical theatre, dance, nouveau cirque and so on are called upon to interact with the public and important buildings of the past. This year’s edition is also enriched with contributions from outside Europe. At Cividale del Friuli, we signal from July 14 to 22 the Mittelfest 2012, with live music, dance and drama from Central and Eastern Europe.

Let’s move to Milan, where the fifth edition of MiToFringe continues throughout the month of July with the great music of all genres that will enjoy our days in 51 locations around the city and with the participation of 290 artists. At Villa Erba in Como we want to signal the fourth edition of the Festival Città di Cernobbio: seven concerts, all free, will take place from August 4 to 15, including Tullio De Piscopio in quartet on August 4; Elio in duet with the pianist Roberto Prosseda on August 6, Max Gazzè with Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini on August 11, and so on.

For great music lovers, here are two international events not to be missed: the Lucca Summer Festival is coming back from June 29 to July 28 with international artists including Tom Petty (June 29), Blink 182 (July 4), Laura Pausini (July 7), Norah Jones (July 14), Kasabian (July 15), Franco Battiato (July 20), Duran Duran (July 21) and many more. A few miles away, in Perugia, from July 6 to 15, new edition of the historic Umbria Jazz Festival, with the combination of excellent jazz music and medieval settings.

Spoleto also will become an open air stage for the Festival dei Due Mondi (from June 29 to July 15), confirming an important event for Italian and international scene, with opera, music, theatre, combining the prestige of tradition with the most interesting contemporary entertainment.

In Rome, the XIXth edition of the review of homosexual theatre il Garofano Verde (the Green Carnation) continues up to July 1(Teatro Belli), while at Parco del Celio the review of comic theatre All’Ombra del Colosseo will go on all summer long (until September 9).

One more for music lover: the House of the Jazz Festival will take place throughout the month of July (from July 4 to 31) at the homonymous park, suggesting the most illustrious names of Italian and international jazz (among others, we recommend Dee Dee Bridgewater on July 26).
Finally, let’s move to the South, where at the Greek Theatre in Siracusa continues the Cycle of Classical Plays until June 30 with three beautiful plays: Prometheus by Aeschylus, The Bacchae by Euripides and The Birds by Aristophanes. In the picturesque scenery of the Public Gardens in Taormina the Jazz Festival is on stage from July 17 to 22 and, last but not least, Ben Harper is in concert on July 25 at the Ancient Theatre.