Singing in Puglia, Easter 2025

Singing and cultural immersion with locals

This Puglia event next Easter is getting better and better… trulli! 🇮🇹

You’re invited to an unforgettable journey into the vibrant culture, music, and flavors of Southern Italy! For the first time ever, we’re proud to present an all-Italian cast — and don’t worry, they speak English too.

We’re especially excited to introduce the newest addition to our team, the multi-talented Cristina Siciliano! As part of this special event, Cristina will lead us on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of her favorite spots in her hometown of Bari, and the stunning coastal town of Polignano a Mare, and the magical, fairytale-like Trulli village of Alberobello.

This experience is open to music lovers and singers of all levels and anyone curious about exploring a new way of living and experiencing the world. 

This is more than a tour. It’s an unforgettable journey through history, music, and tradition — where every village, every note, and every meal tells a story. A rare chance to experience the soul of Puglia like a local, with the locals.

Check out some of the highlights below!

Highlights of the tour include

• Daily singing sessions with the much loved choir director from Florence, Edoardo Materassi. "Edoardo is magic! Patient, playful, passionate" 2024
• Cristina Siciliano, a renowned singer, actor, and sometimes local travel guide, will be joining us for an unforgettable session in her hometown of Bari. Her session on stage confidence and presentation skills (with a delightful dose of Italian 'gesticulation') was a smash hit last time — it’s fun, non-confronting, and incredibly valuable for singers and anyone wanting to boost their public speaking skills.
• Cristina will also lead us on an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of her favourite spots in Bari, Polignano a Mare, and the magical, fairytale-like Trulli village of Alberobello.
• Savor delicious Pugliese cuisine and indulge in the tastes of the region at every stop.
• Dive into the rich Easter traditions of the Salento region with local legends Enza Pagliara and Dario Muci.
  From eerie, ancient rituals to lively village celebrations, you’ll experience it all — including the raw, passionate sounds of Greko dialect songs, pizzica, and tarantata dances. We'll join Enza's family for Easter Monday celebrations and a festa concluding with 'fireworks'!
• Staying overnight in Matera — Once known as "Italy's shame," its stunningly restored cave dwellings are now UNESCO-protected and an absolute must-see.in
• Concert in Bari.

The Trip Summary

• 14 - 16 April – 2 Nights in Bari, Puglia 
• 16 - 22 April – 6 Nights in a village in Otranto region 
• 22–23 April – 1 night in Matera
• 23– 24 April – 1 night, our last night and concert in Bari

Including –

• Daily singing sessions with the exceptional and award-winning 'maestro' from Florence, Edoardo Materassi. 
• Singing sessions, performances, processions and festa with local singers and friends, Enza Pagliara and Dario Muci 
• Stage performance skills session with Cristina Siciliano
• All transport, and tours during our trip
• 7 lunches or dinners
• All breakfasts

Excluding –

• Flights • Travel insurance (mandatory) • Some meals

Getting to us: Closest airport is Bari.

Edoardo Materassi

"It was around 2004 when I first met Edoardo through mutual friends outside Florence, but it was to be another 13 years before I got the chance to really see him in action as a choral director. It was an easy decision to commission him as co-director of our annual Tuscany singing holiday events from that year on. He is a real master of his craft with an ability to tune into a group whether they are young or old, experts or beginners, and extract the very best in a fun and non-confronting style. He always delivers exhilarating results!"  Jennifer Richardson, curator. 

BIO: Edoardo Materassi, guitarist, composer, choir director and teacher. 

Edoardo has an impressive log of concerts both in Italy and abroad. His compositions have been performed in Italy, France, Germany, Holland and Australia. 

He has collaborated with musicians and actors such as: Vars Music, Faye Nepon, Luca di Volo, Claudia Bombardella, Annamaria Castelli, Alessandro Lanzoni, Giorgio Guiot, Carlo Pavese, Monica Bauco, Ivano Bini, Zeta Archive, Maurizio Maggiani, Ernesto De Martino Institute, Orchestra AgimusArte, Sunrise Orchestra. He collaborates as a teacher with the Cantascuola di Torino association.

Edoardo teaches harmony, choral exercises, ensemble music and guitar at numerous schools in the province of Florence. He is artistic director of the School of Music of Calenzano and is a member of the artistic commission of the Cori della Toscana Association.

He is passionate about community singing and directs the choirs: Animae Voces, Mulieris Voces, Sesto in Canto, the choir of the "P. Calamandrei "and the choir of the" Cavalcanti "Inferior Middle Schools of Sesto Fiorentino. With the choirs Animae Voces and Mulieris Voces he has been awarded at various competitions. He also directs youth choirs "Na' Ara Vocal Ensemble" and "Menura Vocal Ensemble" and often works with the successful childrens' choir Piccolo coro Melograno from Florence. (piccolocoromelograno.it)  

The Cornwall International Male Choir 2024 Festival announced Edoardo's composition was voted best overall and the Winner of the International Festival.

We have invited Edoardo to work with us as a choir director on multiple singing holiday events in Italy since 2017

"I have had the great pleasure of participating in a number of The Create Escape Singing events in Italy over the years.  A highlight was singing under the directorship of Edoardo Materassi. His vocal warm-up techniques and his passion for choral singing is truly infectious. After just a few short days, he had us singing Italian, African and Macedonian songs, all taught with encouragement and ease. He is nurturing and just a bundle of positive energy and FUN!  Can't wait to sing with him again!"

"I'd go anywhere in the world to sing with Edoardo again"

Enza Pagliara and Dario Muci

Enza Pagliara and Dario Muci breathe new life into the forgotten songs of Salento, meticulously gathered from the living voices of local tradition bearers. Their performances blend these ancestral melodies with their own stories, creating a powerful bridge between past and present. With a rich repertoire of traditional songs for voices, tambourines, and guitar, they weave together the old and the new, the feminine and the masculine, offering a musical experience that is as timeless as it is transformative.

Cristina Siciliano

Cristina, a renowned singer, actor, and sometimes local travel guide, will be joining us for an unforgettable session in her hometown of Bari.
She has worked in Australia; NIDA, Opera Australia, and New York, Rome and Bari Puglia and many more locations. 

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