Cortona On The Move 2026 opens with 'Beautiful Country' theme and 34 exhibitions

Intesa Sanpaolo has announced its continued support for Cortona On The Move 2026, the 16th edition of the international photography festival held in Cortona, Italy. The festival runs from 16 July to 1 November 2026 in the historic centre of Cortona and at the Fortezza del Girifalco, where this year’s programme is framed by the title 'Beautiful Country'.

According to the institution’s project page, Intesa Sanpaolo has been Main Partner of the festival since 2018. The bank’s announcement situates the 2026 edition as a major showcase for contemporary photography, with the Tuscan town once again positioned as a focal point for exhibitions, artist encounters and public programming. The festival’s 2026 edition is signed by new artistic director Renata Ferri.

The curatorial premise of 'Beautiful Country' is a reflection on contemporary vision and the relationship between image, memory and identity. Intesa Sanpaolo describes the festival as an inquiry into Italy over recent decades, presenting photography as a visual atlas in which critical and poetic approaches intersect. The programme brings together Italian and international artists in a framework that draws on the spirit of the Grand Tour while also engaging with contemporary forms of investigation.

The festival’s exhibition programme includes 34 shows, spanning solo and group presentations, intergenerational dialogues, new commissions and specially assigned projects. Alongside the exhibitions, the schedule includes talks, portfolio reviews, workshops and other in-depth events. The project also includes OTM Academy, a component dedicated to photography schools that aims to connect training and professional practice through activities and opportunities for young photographers.

One of the special projects of the 2026 edition is 'Peninsula', a photographic commission conceived by Ferri in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo, Gallerie d’Italia and Fondazione CR Firenze. Installed at the Fortezza del Girifalco, the exhibition brings together ten artists to respond to the physical and symbolic dimensions of the contemporary landscape.

The project begins from a direct question about how the landscape has changed and how the way it is observed has changed as well. The source material links those shifts to urban expansion, the depopulation of rural areas, overtourism and the effects of climate change. Intesa Sanpaolo presents 'Peninsula' as a plural and critical reflection on the present, using photography to build slower narratives about Italy beyond the pace of daily news.

The artists involved in 'Peninsula' are Arianna Arcara, Fabio Barile, Marina Caneve, Federico Clavarino, Matteo De Mayda, Giorgio Di Noto, Alessandro Imbriaco, Rachele Maistrello, Giulia Parlato and Giovanna Silva.