The 21st edition of 'La Notte della Taranta', a festival dedicated to folk-music traditions of the Salento area in southern Puglia, will open this year on August 2. The event will include over 100 hours of live concerts with 360 artists and 40 concerts of local 'pizzica' music to be held across Salento. The festival's traditional closing concert in Melpignano is scheduled on August 25.

Three exhibits will be inaugurated during the festival. A show will be dedicated to late singer and song-writer Domenico Modugno. Another exhibit will pay homage to Renata Fonte, a councilor in Nardò who was killed by the mafia in 1984 over her fight against excessive cementification as this edition of the festival is dedicated to the landscapes and countryside that inspired local folk music and dance traditions.