Earth Day

Earth Day, from art to sport, here are the initiatives

On 22 April we celebrate our planet. From Milan to Florence and Palermo, events around Italia

by Niccolò Gramigni

20 April 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

From Rome to Milan: the initiatives
Climate, Art and Sport

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

On 22 April, the whole world celebrates the United Nations' World Earth Day, now in its 56th year. Italia does so with a series of initiatives involving the whole country. Officially, the day was established in 1970 when 20 million American citizens, responding to an appeal by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, mobilised in a historic demonstration in defence of our planet: today 193 countries take part, with over 200,000 partners and a billion people involved. It is a moment that therefore concerns everyone.

From Rome to Milan: the initiatives

There are various initiatives for everyone in Italia. From villages to themed workshops. In Rome the celebrations have already started. From 16 to 19 April on the Terrazza del Pincio and at the Galoppatoio in Villa Borghese there were four days of festivities and the director Ferzan Özpetek was also a protagonist in the celebrations. On the evening of 22 April, there will be an evening event at the Nuvola di Fuksas with the multimedia marathon 'One People One Planet' and the 'Concert for the Earth': guests will include Serena Brancale, Pif, Sveva Sagramola, Santo Versace and Massimiliano Ossini.

There will be various proposals in Milan as well, but one of the main ones - themed 'Earth' - will not be on 22 April, but from 10 to 14 June, when the 'Green week' arrives, a widespread manifestation of events organised from below to tell of the commitment of citizens, associations, and organisations that work every day for a Milan that is attentive to environmental issues, cares for the green and puts people's wellbeing at the centre.

In Turin on 25 April there will be Earth Day, the largest event in the city dedicated to environmental, cultural, economic and social sustainability. The fourth edition offers over 60 appointments including talks, workshops, performances, wellness activities and laboratories, bringing the environment, society and culture into dialogue.

InFlorence the Caponnetto Gardens will be inaugurated on 22 April after a major restyling. The city council has chosen to remove the asphalt from the gardens, with a decrease in impermeable areas of over 70%. Among the new features is the "Children's City" with a complete reorganisation of the layout of the games, all of which have been recovered, relocated and integrated.

Climate, Art and Sport

There is a place, today more than any other, where global crises intertwine and become visible: it is the Mediterranean. Climate frontier, energy crossroads, fragile and decisive political space. This is why the city of Palermo has organised the Mediterranean climate festival for the third year running: over the past few days Palermo has hosted international experts and students. At the Garibaldi Theatre there will be the Earth Day conference with a panel that will be explicitly dedicated to COP31 and the positioning of the Mediterranean as a 'Mediterranean Cop' space.

Then there will be a workshop entitled 'Food Poverty in the Mediterranean. Towards integrated policy proposals': there will be a discussion between institutions, research, the third sector and territorial realities to address food inequalities in the Mediterranean context.

From climate to art. Then, at the Ma-Ec Gallery in Milan, an exhibition by the artist Avvassena opens, entitled 'Cosmic Twinning': the curator is Alisia Viola. The artist has chosen Earth Day to present a research that crosses the body, language and matter, relating individual dimension and universal structure. For Earth Day, the artist Daniel Salvi - after the Flowers exhibition - presents the unpublished work "Il fiore dell'infanzia", the proceeds of which will be donated to the non-profit association Colors for Peace (Salvi is its coordinator for Lombardy and creative director), whose aim is to promote peace in the world. In this case, the work reflects on the profound link between nature and childhood, recognising in both a condition of fragility, purity and need for protection. In the tulips, the central element of the work, this correspondence takes shape as an image of a delicate and precious childhood, which asks to be cherished.

Finally, at the sporting level, the Lega Calcio Serie A took the field in the last championship round by promoting a campaign dedicated to sustainability.