The Festival turns 20 years old
The festival's history
Created in 2006, it started out as the Festival Segni d’infanzia and in 2016, thanks to a broadening of the target audience and an important European recognition, it was transformed into SEGNI NEW GENERATIONS FESTIVAL.
SEGNI is an international art and theatre event whose exceptional spectators are boys and girls, teenagers and young adults, 18 months and older!
Italian and international artists and companies among the most recognised and innovative on the world scene perform in shows, workshops and art itineraries in the most beautiful places in the city of Mantua.
It involves the world of schools, families, and all players in the cultural sector for the new generations. It is a space of exchange and inspiration for all those who love theatre, research and the languages of the arts.
SEGNI has obtained the President of the Italian Republic’s endorsement in the form of a Representation Award as a guarantee of the quality of the artistic project.
From 2020 SEGNI is also on the platform segninonda.org, where it is possible to visit, year by year, digital content and the schedule of past editions.
2022 for the public and cultural delegates
IN THE ARCHIVE the programmes and all the covers of past editions with SYMBOLIC ANIMALS drawn by artists such as Dario Fo.
Edition 2025
SEGNI Festival turns 20 yeaars old in 2025: the creative process towards next edition, in Mantova, between October and November, has begun!
Do you want to know more about how the festival works? Check out the 2024 programme on segninonda.org to find out about schedule or browse the booklet in digital version.
Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date on the Festival and Segni d’infanzia activities.
Join us
You can be part of the audience with your classmates or family, you can help organize and carry out events by becoming a volunteer or a TEEN (if you are between 15 and 25 yo) or by testing your creativity partecipating in the Contest or suggesting a show or artistic project.
Are you a cultural operator and do you work with young people aged between 15 and 25? Bring your TEEN group to the Festival! The call is not yet active, more information will be published soon.
If you are an artist, a company or a professional in the cultural field, you can participate by proposing a show or an artistic project, to be nominated each year between November and December for the next edition.
Discover more in the dedicated sections.
Volunteers
Do you want to become a Segni volunteer? – Write an email to segreteria@segnidinfanzia.org or call us at +39 0376.752417 for more information.
If you believe in the importance of culture, theater and art, you can contribute with your enthusiasm and your time to the realization of the festival.
We assure you an experience full of emotions, inputs, encounters.
Everyone from 14 years old upwards can participate. Parents’ authorization is required for those under 18.
For those coming from outside Mantua is possible to organize personalized solutions for accommodation based on skills and motivations.
If you attend a Secondary School or University, you can actively participate in the Festival through PCTO, internship or curricular placement and becoming a TEEN.
Cultural Operators and Professionals
SEGNI New Generations Festival, in Mantua, returns between October and November 2025 for its 20th edition.
Within the programme of the Festival, the non-formal training events “MASTERCLASS PASTAMADRE” are planned: aimed at teachers, cultural delegates, professionals, artists and teenagers and aimed at introducing new forms of cooperation for a holistic approach to cultural management and international cooperation.
The PASTA MADRE Masterclasses are a new way of creating alliances, already experimented in the last three editions of SEGNI Festival, during which participants meet and, as in the magic of the multiplication of mother yeast with water and flour, from an initial cell, people multiply knowledge and skills through this experience of live exchange and knowledge transmission.
Applications are now open to conduct a PASTA MADRE Masterclass at the 2025 edition of SEGNI Festival: click here to submit your content by 8 February 2025.
Artists
Applications are now open for the 20th edition of SEGNI New Generations Festival, in Mantua between October and November 2025.
Apply fo your show by clicking here by 31 December 2024.
Every year SEGNI Festival hosts National and International artists – carefully selected by the Artistic Direction – performing different shows for all ages!
Tickets office
The ticket office is currently closed.
These are info about the the 19th SEGNI New Generations Festival which ended in November 4th.
WHEN AND WHERE
From 27 September in via L.C. Volta, 9/B, headquarters of the Segni d’infanzia association.
On 13, 27 and 28 October at the SOMS Theatre desk in Castellucchio.
From Monday 28 October in Piazza L. B. Alberti, Sala delle Colonne.
OPENING HOURS
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Saturdays from 14:30 to 18:30.
From 28 October to 4 November, 10:00 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 18:00.
HOW TO
- By phoning the ticket office and confirming your booking with payment by bank transfer (within 48h for the general public | within 10 days for schools) to IBAN IT54X0538711501000001686804.
- Online at vivaticket.com (pre-sale and service fees apply) with ticket collection at the venue of the first booked event. PLEASE NOTE If tickets for some events are no longer available online, it is advisable to contact the festival ticket office to check availability on site.
- At the ticket office in Mantua. Electronic payment is preferred.
- At the event venue, tickets for the event itself can be purchased from 30 minutes before the start time of the performance, subject to availability at the Ticket Office.
REFUNDS
Tickets can only be refunded in the event of cancellation due to force majeure. It is not possible to enter the hall once the event has started.
FREE EVENTS
Octosensory Playroom, Sonata in Octopus Major, Crossing Picasso, Stretching the Tentacle: booking required via eventbrite.it
Octopus-themed workshops and readings in the Baratta Library: writing at barattapiu@comune.mantova.it
Masterclass and Participatory Transgeneration Workshop with CNR, M-eating break: write to festivalsegni@gmail.com
Octopus of Music and Critical Spunt(INI): free entrance
COSTS
Single ticket: € 8,00 (from 12 months)
School ticket: € 7,00 per student
Disabled person: € 5,00 with accompanying person free of charge
REDUCTIONS
For families: the purchase of 4 events for at least 1 adult and 1 child/teenager entitles the holder to a € 1 reduction on all tickets.
SUSPENDED TICKET
We confirm the possibility of the Suspended Ticket, which allows anyone to purchase tickets for people who do not have the necessary resources to attend the festival events.
CONTACTS
Phone +39.0376.752882 | biglietteria@segnidinfanzia.org
Press
To request photographic material, insights and interviews with the Artistic Director or scheduled artists, write to stampa@segnidinfanzia.org giving the contact details of the relevant media (name, phone, website, email address) and of a designated journalist.
SEGNI New Generations Festival returns for its 20th edition in Mantua between October and November 2025.
Press office contact:
DOWNLOAD HERE an excerpt from the 2023 press review
Gallery
Info
Families, yound people, adults and cultural operators from all over Italy and abroad, during the days of SEGNI, choose Mantua as the city where to experience a unique stay among art and theater, combining the vision of the shows with the visit of the historical and artistic places.
Reaching Mantova
By car
- Highway A22 Modena-Brennero (exits Mantova Sud – town of Bagnolo San Vito; Mantova Nord – town of San Giorgio di Mantova)
- Highway A4 Milano-Venezia exits Desenzano, Sirmione, Peschiera e Verona Sud
- Highway A1 exits Parma Est and Reggio Emilia.
Bus
Mantua is reached by:
- Flixbus, the stop is located in front of the Campo Canoa bus stop at Strada Cipata 16 – Mantua.
- Marinobus, the stop is located in front of the train station at Piazza Don Leoni, 14
Urban and suburban public transportation service is operated by Apam. Full routes and schedules here.
Trains
There are direct connections from Milan stations (until 2026 from Bozzolo* with substitute bus Mantova-Bozzolo) Verona, Modena, Bologna, Padua, Monselice, Venice, Florence, Rome.
Other connections, with 1 change, are Trento, Bolzano, Parma, Turin. The train station is located in town, at Piazza Don Leoni, 14, in a five-minute walk from the city center.
*update: starting January 2024 til December 2026 the Mantua-Milan railway line is affected by upgrading works. To allow for the construction sites operation, rail traffic will be interrupted between Bozzolo and Mantua. For the duration of the disruption, trains will be replaced with buses between Bozzolo and Mantova. Regular train circulation between Bozzolo and Piadena.
Check the Trenord website for more information and updates.
We also point out the presence of the Reggio Emilia High-Speed station, reachable in only 50 minutes by car, with car parking.
Plane
Mantua can be reached from
Valerio Catullo (Villafranca VR) – 45 mins by car from Mantua
Orio al Serio (Bergamo) – 1h40 mins by car from Mantua
Milano Malpensa (Milano) – 2h30 by car from Mantua
www.milanomalpensa-airport.com
Milano Linate (Milano) – 1h50 by car from Mantua
G. Marconi (Bologna) – 1h10 by car from Mantua
Moving around
BIKE
The bike is the most convenient and fastest way to get around in a city like Mantua, with a good cycle lane infrastructure. Download the RideMovi APP and register on the appropriate one platform for the rental service of bikes and electric bikes.
BUS
Reach all the SEGNI festival venues comfortably and without problems with the lines of APAM!
The historic center of Mantua is served by the CC line (circular) that goes around the center. You can buy your ticket at the tabacco shops, at APAM infopoints, at APAM vending machines located throughout the area of Mantova, or directly on board and digitally, easily with the Dropticket and MooneyGo apps or the TAP TO GO service. Read more about the tickets here.
If you park in Campo Canoa or at Palazzo Te you can reach the center for free with the APAM shuttle, every day from 7:00 to 9:00 pm (Saturdays, Sundays and on holidays starting at 9:00 am). Consult the timetables and stops of the APAM free shuttle here.
Consult all the routes and the timetables on apam.it or contact the Customer Care every day from 7:30 am to hours 7:00 pm at +39.0376.230339, via email to customer.care@apam.it, on whatsapp at 348 2317678, on Facebook (APAM Mantova) or on Twitter (#apam_mn).
ELECTRIC CAR SHARING
To use this service, register on the e-vai.com site and download the app.
RADIO TAXI
T. 0376 368844 | M. 335 5959285 | radiotaximantova.it
PARKING
To reach the ticket office: in the Valletta Valsecchi neighborhood, free car park in the immediate vicinity, and in Piazzale Montelungo, Stadium area as well.
Attention: the stadium car park and the Piazzale di Porta Cerese are affected by traffic closures and a parking ban with removal on the days when the football match takes place. Please pay attention to the road signs that are placed in the vicinity of the event.
Paying parking lot (blue stripes) in Piazza D’Arco, Piazza Virgiliana, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Viale Montello, Piazzale Gramsci, Piazza Seminario Parking, Piazza San Giovanni, Parking lots in Lungo Lago, Piazza Anconetta, Piazza Polveriera. Zone 1 €1,70/h e €8,50/day – Zone 2 €1,30/h e €6,50/day- Zone 3 €0,80/h e € 4,00/day.
Private and video-monitored car parks Scarsellini Parking (University) (1,80€/h or 12€/day), Pradella Parking (1€/h or 5€/working days o 3€/holiday), Mazzini Parking (starting from 2€/h), Gonzaga Parking (1,90€/h daytime or 1,20€ night time or €6/day), Castello Parking(2,50€/h).
Free parking: Parcheggio Primaticcio (adjacent to Palazzo Te), without interchange service, Viale Montello, 37, 46100 Mantova MN.
Piazzale Montelungo and Parking Campo Canoa: at two opposite gates of Mantua with shuttle bus service to the centre.
NOTE: the shuttle bus connects the two car parks of Piazzale Montelungo and Campo Canoa with the city centre. The shuttles follow a precise route that links the two departure and terminus points, i.e. the Montelungo and Campo Canoa car parks, with two intermediate stops: Piazza Sordello in front of the Ducal Palace (every 10 minutes), and Via Matteotti (every 15 minutes).
Times and Costs:
Monday to Saturday: Free – Timetable: 7:00 to 21:00
Sundays and public holidays: Chargeable (€1, day ticket only available on board) – Timetable: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Routes:
Campo Canoa shuttle bus – Connection between Campo Canoa car park and Piazza Sordello (bus stop in front of Palazzo Ducale). Frequency: every 10 minutes.
Montelungo shuttle bus – Connection between the Montelungo car park and Via Matteotti (bus stop at the gardens). Frequency: every 15 minutes.
CAMPER
Equipped rest stops
AREA SPARAFUCILE – via Legnano, 1/a – 24€/day with camper service
PARCO PAGANINI – via Fiera, 11 – Grazie di Curtatone (MN) – 15€/day with camper service – connection to the centre via APAM bus line 5
Accomodation
- Albergo Bianchi Stazione
Piazza Don Eugenio Leoni, 24 – Mantova
www.albergobianchi.com – info@albergobianchi.com
tel. +39.0376.326465
- Hotel Italia
Piazza Felice Cavallotti, 8, 46100 Mantova MN
http://www.hotelitaliamantova.com/
+39.0376.322609
- Hotel Casa Poli
Corso Garibaldi, 32, 46100 Mantova MN
tel. +39.0376.288170
-
Cascina La Goliarda
Via al Lago, 8/A, 46010 Curtatone MN
- Agriturismo Cipolli e Podò – Corte Carlini
Strada Fossamana, 11 – Mantova
tel. +39.336.641173
Eat and drink
Al Gallo
Osteria
tel. +39.328.2437111
Closed Sunday evening and Monday.
Bruno Ristorazione
Restaurant with bar
tel. +39.0376.236420
Closed Sundays.
Caravatti
Bar
Portici, Via Broletto, 16, 46100 Mantova MN
tel. +39.0376.327826
fb: Bar Caravatti | Ig: barcaravatti
Closed on Mondays
Cento Rampini
Trattoria, traditional restaurant
Piazza Erbe, 11, 46100 Mantova MN
tel. +39.0376.366349 | 100.rampini@libero.com
www.ristorantecentorampini.com
Closed on Sunday nights and Mondays
Circolo Culturale Arci Papacqua
International School of Shiatsu
Biobar and vegetarian and vegan restaurant
tel. +39.0376.364636 | info@papacqua.it
www.papacqua.it | fb: arcipapacqua
Closed on Saturday nights and Sundays
Da Marli at Arci Donini
Restaurant
Piazza dei Mille, 14
tel. +39.0376.365930
Closed Sunday evening and Saturdays.
Giallozucca
Restaurant
Corte dei Sogliari, 4, 46100 Mantova MN (Corso Umberto I)
tel. +39.335.6869686
Closed on Thursdays and Sunday nights
Il Punto – Acli
Self-service Restaurant
tel. +39.0376.1410596
fb: Il Punto – Acli | ig: @ilpuntoacli_mantova
Open Sunday 3 November.
Closed on Sundays.
Laboratorio
Restaurant & Cocktail bar
Piazza Leon Battista Alberti, 19, 46100 Mantova MN
tel. +39.0376.1506092 | info@laboratoriomn.it
laboratoriomn.it | ig: laboratoriomn
Open for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays and every night
Closed on Tuesdays
La fragoletta
Osteria
Piazza Arche, 5a, 46100 Mantova MN
tel. +39.0376.323300 | info@fragoletta.it
Closed on Mondays
LaCucina srl
Restaurant
Via Guglielmo Oberdan, 17, 46100 Mantova MN
tel. +39.0376.1513735 | info@lacucina-mantova.it
www.lacucina-mantova.it | fb: lacucina.mantova
Closed on Sunday nights and Mondays for lunch
Lo Scalco Grasso
Contemporary Osteria
Via Trieste, 55, 46100 Mantova MN
tel. +39.349.3747958 | info@scalcograsso.it
loscalcograsso.it | fb: Lo Scalco Grasso
Closed on Sunday nights and Mondays for lunch
Tortelli & Friends
Ristopub
tel. +39.0376.327294
Closed Mondays.
Museums
The festival is a unique opportunity to combine the viewing of performances with a visit to the historical-artistic sites of the city of Mantua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its many museums.
Several SEGNI events are held in wonderful art places!
To better organize your visit to the city, contact:
Infopoint Casa di Rigoletto, Piazza Sordello, 43, Mantua
Tel. +39.0376.288208 – info@infopointmantova.it
IAT Mantova, Piazza Mantegna, 6, Mantua
Tel. +39.0376.432432 – info@turismo.mantova.it
Promoters
Patronages
Institutional partners
With the support of
Sponsorships
To thank for the hospitality
Technical sponsors
Media partners
In collaboration with
