Fora do Lugar - Early Music(s) International Festival

Idanha’s wealth of heritage is now appreciated worldwide. UNESCO Creative City in the field of music since December 2015. Biosphere Reserve in 2016, which also marks 10 years since the creation of Geopark Naturtejo da Meseta Meridional, the first Geopark in Portugal and the first UNESCO classification in the region. These three awards give Idanha a special status: it is a UNESCO territory, combining tangible and intangible heritages.

Fostered by the endless opportunities offered by the Idanha-a-Nova region, our “small wandering festival” continues to serve up surprises to the public, featuring a variety of performances, programmes and venues.

The Idanha region and music are inextricably linked, and this is certainly one of those moments at which the connection between them becomes particularly apparent. It is common knowledge that Idanha’s musical heritage is one of the region's greatest assets. But the connection goes beyond a bond that perpetuates the past and the models that it has bequeathed. It is a process of ever-growing dynamism that both preserves those traditions that bring so much joy to so many people, while increasingly opening up to the sharing of new forms of musical experimentation and the quest for new pathways forged by the fusion of tradition and innovation, amply demonstrating the vast creative potential of this region.

Is this a particularly provocative concept? Yes indeed, as borne out by the way in which the venues for the festival themselves break with prevailing conventions and stereotypes. Is it proving effective? The results of the previous editions of the festival speak for themselves, having demonstrated the capacity to showcase culture in a setting where many would never have thought it possible: a lost realm of tiny, almost deserted villages.

This is one of the greatest achievements of the project: its boldness in going where no one else has ever bothered to go before.