Spina, a hamlet in the municipality of Marsciano, will welcome Gecko 2025 – Prima della Prima, the seventh edition of the festival that this year will accompany the birth of the Teatro della Terra d’Umbria. The event will take place in two symbolic locations: the Castello di Spina, the historic home of the festival, and the new venue nestled in the hills of Marsciano, just a few minutes’ walk from the village, destined to become a cultural centre dedicated to listening, knowledge, and community.

On Saturday, events will mainly take place at the future Teatro della Terra d’Umbria, starting at 6:00 pm with the talk "Culture that Shapes the Landscape", presenting the project. This will be followed by Giada Messetti’s performance-conference Inside the Dragon’s Head and the screening of Katia Bernardi’s documentary In the Dragon’s Skin. From 7:00 pm, a refreshment point will be available for a picnic under the stars.

On Sunday, activities will unfold among the vineyards and alleys of the Castello di Spina. The day will open with an 8 km loop trek along the ancient Via Orvietana, followed by the presentation of Marco Pontoni’s book In Umbria at the “La Spina” Winery. Also in the morning, in the Castello, Sound Dialogues will be performed — a storytelling concert for families by Roberta Prandi, Carlo Stoppoloni, and Mattia Cardinali, part of the national programme Born for Music. The festival will close with the itinerant tasting Small Tables, Big Stories, dedicated to local flavours and the agri-food biodiversity of Umbria.

With Prima della Prima, Gecko invites the public to take part in a starting moment where tradition and innovation meet to create a new way of experiencing culture — deeply rooted in the land yet open to the future.

For more information and the complete programme, visit: [link]