A grand collective performance winds its way through the heart of L’Aquila. On June 7, 2026, as part of the program for L’Aquila, Italian Capital of Culture, SOND – The School of Narrative Dance, founded by artist Marinella Senatore, will transform the historic center of the Abruzzo capital into an open-air stage: over 400 participants, 50 organizations, and an entire community in motion.
On Sunday , June 7, 2026, starting at 4:00 p.m., MAXXI L’Aquila and the square in front of it will serve as the starting point for an extraordinary collective parade that will wind its way along the main thoroughfare of L’Aquila’s historic center, from the Fontana Luminosa to the square in front of the Basilica of Collemaggio.
The event is one of the highlights of the programfor L’Aquila, Italian Capital of Culture 2026: organized by MAXXI L’Aquila and funded by the City of L’Aquila, it brings one of the most celebrated participatory projects on the international art scene to the city.
SOND – The School of Narrative Dance: What It Is and Why It’s in L’Aquila
Founded in 2012, SOND – The School of Narrative Dance is the project through which Marinella Senatore —one of Italy’s most internationally recognized artists—uses artistic expression as a tool for civic participation, collective empowerment, and social inclusion. Over the years, the project has taken to the streets of Rome, London, Berlin, Madrid, Quito, Munich, and Paris, building a global network of active communities in over 30 countries.
Today, for the first time, SOND is coming to L’Aquila: this is no coincidence, as the cultural and social rebirth of the capital of Abruzzo—which began after the 2009 earthquake—is seen as fertile and meaningful ground for Marinella Senatore’s community-based artistic practice.
As Emanuela Bruni, President of the MAXXI Foundation, points out : “Launched in 2012, Marinella Senatore’s SOND project has been hosted in numerous international capitals over the years. Today, thanks to MAXXI, the project is also coming to L’Aquila, the Italian Capital of Culture, with the aim of highlighting the journey through which the L’Aquila community has addressed the consequences of the 2009 earthquake, choosing to invest in art and creativity as tools for cultural and social reconstruction.”
The program: workshops, parade, and exhibition
Preparatory Workshops — Palazzo Spaventa
The lead-up to the performance on June 7 includes two introductory events, open to the public, at Palazzo Spaventa in L’Aquila:
- Tuesday, June 3, 5:00 p.m. — Somatic Movement Workshop
- Wednesday, June 4, 5:00 p.m. — Bodysound Workshop
The Grand Parade — June 7, 4:00 p.m.
More than 400 people of all ages—recruited through a call for participants launched by the artist among associations, sports groups, cultural organizations, and ordinary citizens—will come together to bring the streets of L’Aquila’s historic center to life. The parade will set off from the MAXXI L’Aquila headquarters and, immediately following the official greetings, will pass through the city’s most iconic and distinctive landmarks:
- Illuminated Fountain
- Cathedral Square
- Public Park
- Piazza della Memoria, with its fountain dedicated to the victims of the 2009 earthquake
- The Square in Front of the Basilica of Collemaggio
Along the route, the facades of historic buildings, small squares, arcades, and courtyards in the historic center will come alive with community events, performances, sports, and art. Participants include: volunteer groups, sports organizations, sign language groups for the deaf, embroiderers, amateur soccer teams, skateboarding crews, choirs, parkour groups, majorettes, opera singers, historical reenactment groups in period costumes, classical and hip-hop dance schools, marching bands and musical ensembles, and electronic music DJs. Studentsfrom the Academy of Fine Arts in L’Aquila, the “A. Casella” Conservatory, and the Experimental Center for Cinematography will document the parade.
In the words of Marinella Senatore: “The School of Narrative Dance in L’Aquila was founded as an open space for encounter, listening, and collective imagination, fostering a genuine process of sharing built on relationships, connections, and participation. A place where people’s bodies, voices, and presence become tools for building new possibilities for community, and where personal stories intertwine to form a shared narrative.”
Focus: “The School of Narrative Dance” — MAXXI L’Aquila Project Room
June 7 – September 13, 2026
In conjunction with the performance, the Project Room at MAXXI L’Aquila will host the opening of the Focus exhibition dedicated to Marinella Senatore and her *The School of Narrative Dance*, curated by Chiara Bertini, which will be on view through September 13, 2026.
The exhibition features:
- Drawings, watercolors, and archival photographs from 2014—the year the artist won the third edition of the MAXXI Prize with *SOND*
- Subsequent Acquisitions for the MAXXI Collection (2019)
- A map of the 30 countries around the world that have hosted The School of Narrative Dance
- The video *Ongoing Documentary* (2013–2024), which chronicles all the stages of the international project
In June, the exhibition will be enhanced with a previously unseen video and a banner dedicated to the L’Aquila edition, which the artist donated to the City of L’Aquila.
SOND in L’Aquila: Art as Reconstruction
SOND – The School of Narrative Dance, L’Aquila is much more than a performance. It embodies what L’Aquila, Italy’s 2026 Capital of Culture, represents for this city: the conscious choice to make art, culture, and creativity the tools of a reconstruction that goes far beyond bricks and mortar, one that reaches across communities, bodies, and personal and collective stories.
The event on June 7 is open to all residents and visitors who wish to watch the parade through the streets of L’Aquila’s historic center.