The Dawn Concert on the Forte dei Marmi Pier

All the enchantment of a concert with a view of the sea and the Apuan Alps

Forte dei Marmi, 15 August, 5:40 in the morning. The first light of dawn, the silent streets, young people in last night’s clothes on their way home clutching a croissant. But if you go down Via Duca d’Aosta then cross the promenade, you’ll be astonished to see an unusual coming and going of ladies in white caftans, men in shorts and shirts, teenagers buzzing with excitement.

The dawn concert on the pier is a fairly recent tradition - barely six years old - but it has already become an unmissable annual event in Forte dei Marmi. Maybe it’s to do with the moving strains of well-known classical music that seem to accompany the rising of the sun; or the backdrop of the sea, attending in almost religious silence; the empty, raked beach or the elegant tribe of young and not-so-young people gliding by on bicycles. A ritual within a ritual is the ‘fisherman’s breakfast’ of bread, tomatoes and anchovies - radical chic on toast, undoubtedly followed by pastries and cappuccinos in the bars that open early for the occasion. The program remains a surprise every year, but the artistic level is always very high, capable of winning over residents and tourists alike.

“The dawn concert,” stresses the councillor for Culture and Tourism, "has proved since the first edition to be an event of great appeal to both tourists and the citizens of Versilia. It is an event we particularly care about because it takes place at an evocative moment, that of dawn, when one can discover a more intimate Forte dei Marmi that shows us in this still silent hour its most authentic and natural aspect."

Panettone d’estate Fiore 1827

At the end of the performance, as the sun rises behind the Apuan Alps, participants will be able to enjoy breakfast prepared by the Pontile Fishermen’s Association, accompanied by the Fiore 1827 Summer Panettone. This event celebrates an idea that originated nearly twenty years ago and has since become one of the most original culinary traditions of Italy’s Ferragosto holiday, demonstrating that panettone can take center stage well beyond the Christmas season.