In Ercolano, “Gli Ozi di Ercole” opens the Antica Spiaggia in the evening for three 400-seat dates

Three evenings in a rarely ordinary place

The Parco Archeologico di Ercolano is bringing “Gli Ozi di Ercole” back to the program, a summer series conceived as a blend of lezioni-spettacolo, theatrical readings and concerts. The 2026 edition will take place on September 10, 11 and 12, with public access from 8 p.m. The announced setting immediately sets the tone: the Antica Spiaggia becomes, for three evenings, an open-air stage amid the remains returned by the eruption of 79 AD.

The information is also relayed on the park’s homepage, where the announcement appears as an event and a news item devoted to “Gli Ozi di Ercole”. This front-page presence confirms the practical importance of the announcement: tickets are already available and the program is aimed at an audience that will need to choose a date, or opt for the full series.

For visitors who associate Herculaneum with a daytime visit, the format changes the way they experience the site. The park has announced three evening openings, with hours from 8 p.m. to midnight, and two possible entrances: Corso Resina 187 and Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi 19. The evening is therefore not just a performance added to the calendar, but also a highly structured form of night access.

Love and war as the common thread

The title of the 2026 edition, “Amore e guerra, tra mito, poesia e filosofia”, sets the intellectual direction of the series. The park presents this pairing as a link running through classical culture, from Plato to Thucydides, from Lucretius to Freud. The announced reference to Woody Allen’s famous film adds a modern echo to this journey through texts, thought and the stage.

Each evening is built as a dialogue between conversation, staged reading and music. The principle published by the park is clear: a conversation finds its counterpoint in a staged reading, then the evening closes with music. The announced styles are not ranked: popular, learned, rock and jazz sounds can answer one another within the same cycle.

The September 10 program

The first evening, on September 10, is titled “Nella mischia. Tra amore e guerra”. It brings together Lucia Mascino and Laura Pepe around the theme of love and war. The wording of the program immediately places the audience in the fray, in the literal sense of the Italian title, between emotional tensions, conflict and the legacy of ancient texts.

The musical part of that same evening is announced under the title “Canti d’amore e di guerra”. Ambrogio Sparagna and Raffaello Simeoni are listed in concert. The coherence with the general theme is direct: after the conversation and the stage component, the music extends the motifs of love and war without leaving the edition’s guiding thread.

Second evening, from love’s madness to Bach

On September 11, the series turns to love’s madness with “Furiose. Sulla follia d’amore”. The program brings together Carmen Gallo, Isabella Ragonese and Silvia Romani. The entry point of amorous fury continues the general theme while narrowing attention to what love can produce in excess, disturbance or overflow within the announced literary and philosophical imagination.

The evening also includes “Il panettiere e l’astronomo. Le due vite di Johann Sebastian Bach”, presented as a conversation with Carlo Boccadoro. The shift is notable, but it remains within the series’ published framework: conversations and musical forms enter into dialogue, taking the audience from a motif of love to a reflection on Bach.

On September 12, close contact and a final concert

The third evening, on September 12, is titled “Baci e morsi. Se l’amore ti fa a pezzi”. Gennaro Carillo and Federica Fracassi are announced in the program. The very concrete title shifts the common thread toward a love that bites, fragments and leaves marks, still within the love-and-war pairing claimed for the 2026 edition.

The musical closing is entrusted to Francesco Di Bella, announced in concert with “Acqua santa”. This final date closes the three evenings on the Antica Spiaggia with an identified musical proposal, after two other appointments where music was already integrated into the general architecture of the series.

Tickets, capacity and free admission

The park indicates that access to each evening is limited to a maximum of 400 people. Ticket sales are active online and on site until the event start time, subject to availability. This capacity gives the announcement an immediate practical consequence: the interested public is not only choosing a program, but must also deal with a capped number of places.

Tickets are available through CoopCulture. The full price is announced at 10 euros, while the reduced rate is set at 5 euros for those aged 18 to under 25, including citizens of the European Union. A named pass for the whole series is offered at 15 euros, valid for admission to the evenings from September 10 to 12.

Free admission is planned for minors, for disabled people and their companion, as well as for holders of a Parco Archeologico di Ercolano pass. In the latter case, the park specifies that advance booking on the ercolano.coopculture.it website is required. The park pass can be purchased online on the same site or at the park ticket office.

Entrances, comfort and parking

The published practical information specifies the two entrances planned for these night openings: Corso Resina 187 and Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi 19. The park also recommends wearing low, comfortable shoes. For an outdoor evening, it advises protecting the skin with insect repellents, to improve comfort during the performances.

Free parking is announced, subject to availability, at the Istituto Comprensivo 1 “Giulio Rodinò”, Via IV Novembre 43, and at the Istituto Comprensivo “Iovino Scotellaro”, Traversa I Via IV Novembre 28. Paid parking is also indicated at the Parcheggio Comunale “Herculaneum Parking”, Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi.

The park’s general page also recalls the presence of useful services and reference points on the site: toilets, accessible toilets, ticket office, information, security, store, food area, picnic area, as well as routes or buildings indicated for disabled visitors. These indications do not replace the specific conditions for the evenings, but they place the event within a park already organized around identified entrances, services and itineraries.