Nuoro is preparing to experience one of Sardinia’s most deeply felt and representative events. From 22 to 29 August, the Festa del Redentore returns for its 126th edition in 2026, with a week of events intertwining spirituality, folklore, music and popular culture.
The programme will accompany the city through the closing day on 29 August, when hundreds of faithful will reach Monte Ortobene for one of the most evocative moments of the event.
Traditional masks open the festival
The Festa del Redentore will begin on Saturday 22 August at 6:00 pm with I riti de su carrasecàre, the parade dedicated to traditional Sardinian masks. Afterwards, from 7:00 pm, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele will come alive with Nuoro’s accordion players.
At 10:00 pm, singer-songwriter music will take centre stage with Piero Marras, the star of the recital Io mi racconto, a performance for piano and voice.
Sunday’s grand parade of traditional costumes
The heart of the folklore programme will arrive on Sunday 23 August. At 10:00 am, Il cammino del Redentore, the grand parade of traditional Sardinian attire, will set off, followed at noon by a parade of horsemen and horsewomen.
At 1:00 pm, a solemn blessing is scheduled at the Cathedral of Santa Maria della Neve, while from 6:00 pm Piazza Vittorio Emanuele will host the Regional Folklore Festival, featuring groups from across the island, canti a tenore, choirs and traditional dances.
Music, poetry and culture in Nuoro’s squares
The festival will continue in the following days. On Monday 24 August, at 10:00 pm in Piazza Sebastiano Satta, Sa gara, an event dedicated to cantu a chiterra, will take centre stage with Gian Daniele Calbini, Gianni Denanni, Daniele Giallara and Marco Manca.
On Tuesday 25 August, again at 10:00 pm in Piazza Satta, Moses Concas & Band will perform, while Wednesday 26 August will see A Bolu, a contest of improvised poetry with Bruno Agus, Dionigi Bitti and Giuseppe Porcu, accompanied by the Tenore Sòtziu Nugoresu.
The cultural programme will continue on Friday 28 August in the area of the Park of the Church of Solitude, where at 9:00 pm the film L'amore e la gloria – La giovane Deledda will be screened. The event will be introduced by Professor Duilio Caocci, with the participation of producer Salvatore Cubeddu and director Maria Grazia Perria.
The pilgrimage to Monte Ortobene brings the Festa del Redentore to a close
As tradition dictates, the highlight will arrive on Saturday 29 August. At 6:00 am, the pilgrimage to Monte Ortobene will depart from the Cathedral of Santa Maria della Neve, the spiritual heart of the Festa del Redentore.
At 11:00 am, in the Monte Ortobene Park, the solemn Mass presided over by the Bishop of Nuoro, Monsignor Antonello Mura, will be celebrated, accompanied by Nuoro’s choirs. This will be followed by a religious procession along the park ring road. The 29 August celebration also appears in the Diocese’s official calendar.
In this way, a week will bring to Nuoro some of the most recognisable expressions of Sardinian culture and devotion, once again transforming the city and Monte Ortobene into symbolic places of a tradition that spans generations.