A country fair at Filitosa, guitars at Patrimonio, theatre in the Giussani valley: ten Corsican dates for August 1-2, as July's line-up hands over to August.
The weekend of August 1 and 2 is a clear hinge in Corsica. On Saturday, several July events play out their final hours. On Sunday, five August fixtures start on the very same day. Our pick of the weekend is the Fiera di u Turismu Campagnolu, which sets a hundred producers down on the prehistoric site of Filitosa.
Our list covers both departments, from Piana to Pietracorbara. Guitar, piano, village theatre, farm fairs and polyphonic singing: ten dates, with checked times and places.
Fiera di u Turismu Campagnolu: the farm fair takes over Filitosa (Sollacaro, July 31-August 2)
The Fiera di u Turismu Campagnolu, better known as the Filitosa Fair, occupies the prehistoric site at Sollacaro through Sunday August 2. Around a hundred producers, craftspeople and farmers from across the island hold stalls there. It is one of the oldest rural fairs in Corsica: Sollacaro's tourist board founded it in 1992.
The setting does a lot of the work. Stalls go up on a major archaeological site in the south of the island, not on a village hall car park. The fair runs at the start of August every year, and 2026 sticks to the habit. Saturday and Sunday are the last two days of this edition. Anyone driving between Ajaccio and Propriano can slot the stop in easily.
Les Nuits de la Guitare de Patrimonio: Sunday fires the starting gun
The Nuits de la Guitare de Patrimonio open on Sunday August 2 in Haute-Corse and run through Wednesday the 5th. The whole festival is built around the guitar. Launched in 2018, it has been part of the local cultural landscape for eight years.
Sunday is therefore an opening night, not a farewell. For anyone spending the weekend in the north of the island, this is the music date that takes over from the July festivals. Eight editions rarely suffice to plant a name in a crowded summer calendar. This one managed it, at the scale of its village and its department.
Theatre in the Giussani valley: L'ARIA starts its week (Pioggiola, August 1-8)
The Rencontres Internationales de Théâtre en Corse open on Saturday August 1 at A Stazzona, in Pioggiola, and run through the 8th. They are run by the association L'ARIA, founded by actor and director Robin Renucci.
The idea rests on geography as much as on stagecraft. The villages of the Giussani valley, deep inside the Corsican regional nature park, host around a hundred trainees each summer. Actors and technicians, amateurs and professionals, work side by side over several weeks. Saturday's opening sets the tone for something closer to a collective workshop than a showcase festival.
Piano between Bastia and Erbalunga: the weekend lands mid-festival (July 29-August 4)
The Nuits du Piano d'Erbalunga run from July 29 to August 4. This international festival uses two stages: the Palais des Gouverneurs in Bastia and the open-air Théâtre de Verdure in Erbalunga, facing the Mediterranean.
Patrice Moracchini is the artistic director. The scale stays intimate, against the grain of the big summer stages. Saturday and Sunday fall right in the middle of the concert week, when the programme is at its fullest. It is the strongest classical offer of the weekend in Haute-Corse, and the only one split between a city and a village.
Olmeto: a week of free theatre across the whole village (August 1-7)
The Festival de l'Olmu opens on Saturday August 1 in Olmeto, southern Corsica, for seven days. The Théâtre de l'Olmu company runs this open-air event, which takes over the entire village.
Everything on the bill is free. It mixes theatre, new work, concerts, readings, talks and art performances. That blend of formats inside one village perimeter makes for an event where you walk from venue to venue instead of sitting down in a hall. Saturday's opening and the Sunday that follows cover the first two days. In Ulmetu, the village itself is the stage.
Almonds in the spotlight at Aregno: 30th edition, August 1-2
The Fiera di l'Amandulu takes place in Aregno, Haute-Corse, on Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2. Founded in 1997, the almond fair marks its 30th edition this year.
Two days, one product, one village: the recipe has not changed. These single-product fairs pace the island's summer and act as a direct shop window for growers. Thirty editions on, the Aregno fair remains one of the notable food dates in Haute-Corse at the very start of August. Both days are covered, so there is no need to pick one.
Aio Festival: closing night in Ajaccio on Sunday August 2
The Aio Festival wraps its 13th edition on Sunday August 2 in Ajaccio, after six days that began on July 28. This music event has existed since 2014.
Thirteen years is enough for an Ajaccio festival to build a name without turning into a machine. The final night closes the July music run in the capital of Corse-du-Sud. For visitors landing on the island that weekend, it is the only chance to catch it before next summer. Both Saturday and Sunday fall inside the edition.
In Cantu opens a month of polyphonic singing in Ajaccio (from August 2)
The Chants Polyphoniques In Cantu start on Sunday August 2 and carry on all month, through the 31st. Concerts are held in the San Ruchellu church, also called Petit Saint-Roch, on rue du Cardinal Fesch.
The In Cantu ensemble brings together singers from established Corsican groups and from the opera world. The repertoire is purely vocal, sung a cappella. It alternates sacred pieces — the masses of Sermanu, Rusiu and Sartène — with secular songs such as the paghjelle. The small size of the church changes the listening: you hear the grain of the voices rather than a PA system. The first date is this Sunday.
Bastia Ville Digitale: tech in a very acoustic summer (August 1-2)
Bastia Ville Digitale takes over the town on Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2. Created in 1992, this event devoted to digital technology and innovation is now in its 35th edition.
Thirty-five years for a tech event deserves a mention: it started well before the consumer internet. It stands out in a Corsican August calendar dominated by village fêtes and open-air concerts. Two days in town, then, for anyone after something other than a dance or a farm fair.
Piana Atout Cœur: two days of art, and no more
The Piana Atout Cœur exhibition runs in Piana, southern Corsica, on Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2. Born in 1998, it reaches its 29th edition this year.
Twenty-nine years of continuity for an art show in a commune this size is unusual. The short format means turning up on those exact two days, with no second chance the following week. It is also the only purely visual proposal on our list, in a weekend led by music and theatre.
Also worth noting: three village fêtes starting on Sunday
- Fête de Pietracorbara (August 2-4): 154th edition of this Haute-Corse patron saint's fête, founded in 1873.
- Fête de Belgodère (August 2-5): four days of village festivities, 79th edition since 1948.
- Fête de la Clémentine (August 2-3): Linguizzetta celebrates its citrus fruit for the 55th time since 1972.
The weekend at a glance
On Saturday August 1, the action sits in Olmeto, Pioggiola, Aregno, Bastia and Piana. Sunday August 2 acts as the hinge: Filitosa and the Aio Festival close, while Patrimonio, In Cantu and three village fêtes take over.
Distances remain the real constraint on the island. Picking one axis — north, Cap Corse or south — beats racing from end to end in two days. Our weekend agenda lets you compare with the other French regions.
