Mercantia 2018 Certaldo

The most anticipated International Street Theatre Festival of the year

From 11 July 2018 to 15 July 2018

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From Wednesday 11th to Sunday 15th July, in the magnificent setting of the village of Certaldo, one of the most loved and popular street theater festivals in Italy will take place: Mercantia 2018, an event unique in its kind, which I set to create a syncretism between the classic street theatre genre (mimes, jugglers, fire eaters, storytellers, marching bands etc) and the puppet theater, experimental theater, cabaret, prose, vertical aerial dance, on fabrics and in every other form, installations of contemporary art and craftsmanship live. All the performances, 100 shows per evening that will involve 400 artists, will take place in the squares, the alleys, the courtyards, the gardens, the towers and the underground of Certaldo. From this year thanks to the Project 'Account', there will be interesting events also in the houses of the Certaldo inhabitants!

The Festival Mercantia 2018 will actively involve the public, entertaining young and old: as usual, you can take part in some of the shows by buying an admission ticket in the upper and medieval part of the village, reachable on foot or with the funicular of Certaldo while, in the lower and more modern part of the town, you can attend other free exciting performances and have a walk around the large artisan market always present at each edition of the busker Festival Mercantia.

This harmonious mix of ancient and modern, combined with spectacular performances, makes the event one of the most popular events in Certaldo and of the whole of Tuscany: every year there are more than 50 thousand visitors between the upper and the lower part of the village.

Social networks also tell a long story: the Mercantia facebook page has 30,000 likes and over 400 thousand users who actively interact by sharing photos, videos and commenting.

THEME AND NEWS ON THE 31st FESTIVAL MERCANTIA

For more than 30 years, Mercantia has never stopped renewing itself. In the words of Alessandro Gigli, the historical creator of the event, the festival keeps on seeking new routes towards new goals. Just look at the poster of 2018 Mercantia to notice that the description of the event has changed: International Festival of the Fourth Theater. What does this mean? The creators and organizers have sought to reinforce the idea behind this event which, having drawn the public attention towards street art, is walking in the direction of finding the closest artistic dimension to truth. How? The fourth theater doesn’t follow stereotypes nor fashion, it seeks new experiments and opens up new directions that ideally point towards the 'four' cardinal points: North, South, East and West. This year the event also boasts two very interesting projects: 'Account' and 'Mysteries and Drolls'. The former involves the inhabitants of Certaldo that every evening will open ten of their homes, upon booking, to groups of small visitors who will have the chance to listen to the stories of the young or retired on a coffee and a glass of wine, closely observe those who perform with musical instruments or those who communicate through their body. Mysteries and Drolls, instead, is a research project on the Giullaresque arts that will bring truly unmissable international performances to Certaldo!

The theme of Mercantia Certaldo 2018 is 'between the earth and the sky' and this too is linked to the evolution of the event, similar to the evolution of a butterfly that for his first years crawls like a caterpillar between the events of the town’s alleys, then turns into a chrysalis and now flys free between the earth and the sky. Do you also want to fly? Well at Mercantia 2018 the program will really take you to the top!

MERCANTIA PROGRAM 2018

• International events 31st Festival Mercantia

The international breath of the street performers festival Italy 2018 will give you the chance to go on an imaginary journey between countries and continents such as Holland, Japan, Argentina just to name a few. On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the twinning between Certaldo and the Japanese city of Kanramachi, you can watch the enthralling performance of Ataro Taiku Percussion Band and the juggling of the duo Senmaru and Yuki. The Close Act, from Holland, will enchant the Certaldo public once again with their Saurus: gigantic dinosaurs up to 5 meters in height that move above the crowd. Then we will move on to Israel with the delicate poem of the Duo Looky, who through juggling and improvisation will explore the theme of love. Kabarè Pupala Marionetas marionettes and Argentina Manic Freak arrive from Germany with their challenging games of balancing in the air.

• Street theatre

Like every other year, there will be so many artists from all over Italy that it is impossible to name them all. After all, we know that Mercantia isn’t the sort of place where you go around with the program in hand... but only with open eyes! Having said that, we’d still like to share just a few highlights: the dance by Biliku and their dresses, angels posted for the village of Silence Theatro, the tiger man of Guascone Teatro and you will have fun thanks to the irony of Arnaldo Mangini who makes fun of the current fashion of the search for wellbeing.

• Italian Marching Band

They have always been the musical soul of the event, the soundtrack of that fantastic experience that is Mercantia! There will be the Brigada Pirata, inspired by the ballads of the Anglo-Saxon sailors of the 1600s, Ivan e la Van Dyke Orchestra with his poetic and comedy show, and Peppe Millanta & Balkan who will perform at the cry of:' Balkanizziamoci'. The Badabimbunband, now a permanent presence in recent years, will present this year along with the other group Alchimie Musicali in 'Granbanda': an engaging meeting-clash at the rhythm of music!

• Giardini Segreti di Mercantia 2018

If you want to escape the cheerful confusion of the event you can go to the 'secret gardens', shows upon reservation that take place in enclosed spaces such as gardens, courtyards and squares. You can thus enjoy the performance of artists like Ivana Caffarati with her 'Dancing Women' or the Teatro 35 tableau vivant, just to give some examples. 

Do not miss the opportunity to experience, from June 11th to 15th, that daydream that only the Festival Mercantia 2018 can give! Plan a few days in Tuscany and experience the wonderful atmosphere of Certaldo. If when visiting this wonderful village, you feel like visiting others, well bear in mind that in Tuscany you’re spoilt for choice! Where do you start from? It’s easy: simply take a look at our section on Villages in Tuscany and book the experience you prefer: group or private guided tours, tastings, horse riding, cycling and a Vespa ride! You will be spoiled for choice.

CERTALDO EVENTS is pleased to present MERCANTIA 2018

Location: Certaldo – Firenze

Dates: From 11th to 15th July 2018

Info and Mercantia tickets 2018 on the official website www.mercantiacertaldo.it

'Mercantia is... the land of dreams, it is a full moon night, a festival of theatre and life, a place of encounters and of passions, it is the man who never gives up and continues to sing...'