The Toscano Paternò Park represents one of the most fascinating and historically rich naturalistic places in Sicily. Created on an ancient Etna lava flow, the park is a botanical garden of about 4 hectares, nationally and internationally recognized as unique example of a “garden on lava”, capable of accommodating in harmony the Mediterranean vegetation and an extraordinary variety of rare subtropical species.
Its uniqueness lies not only in its botanical heritage, but also in the cultural and civic vision accompanying him: under the passionate guidance of the Paternò family and in particular of Stena Paternò, the Park has become a lived urban space, open to the community and new generations, with educational activities, environmental education projects, guided tours and artistic and cultural events.
In this context was born in the 2025 collaboration with the’Musikante Association, which gave birth to the format Jazz in the Park: a series of musical events designed not as mere concerts, but as immersive experiences, in which jazz music dialogues with nature and becomes an integral part of it.
🌿 Stena Paternò's vision.
Stena Paternò, heir and guardian of this extraordinary garden, has imprinted the Park with a clear direction: to preserve a unique naturalistic asset, transforming it into a culture and community workshop. His sensitivity and dedication have made it possible to make the Park a place not only for conservation, but also for conscious and participatory fruition.
Jazz music, with its dialogic, improvisational and free nature, fits into this path as a tool for meeting, openness and shared beauty.
🎙️ The Thoughts of the Artistic Director
«Bringing jazz to Paternò del Toscano Park means returning music to its most authentic dimension: dialogue with nature and people. Each concert here will not be just a show, but an encounter that interweaves sounds, silences and landscape, creating unique and unrepeatable emotions.
As an artistic director and musician, I deeply believe that jazz-with its freedom and ability to improvise-is the perfect soundtrack for such a special place. Thanks to the sensitivity of the Paternò family and the generosity of Stena Paternò, the Park becomes a natural stage that welcomes the public in an embrace of beauty, culture and sustainability.»
— Antonio Petralia, Artistic Director of Musikante https://musikante.eu/antonio-petralia/
📅 Concerts 2025
June 30 - “A Ballad for a Tree”
Intimate, site-specific concert designed as a tribute to a tree in the Park, a symbol of dialogue between music and nature.
Aug. 6 - “AperiJazz” with the Triton Jazz Trio
An evening of conviviality and jazz among the ancient trees, with apericena and live music.
Aug. 31 - “AperiJazz” with APJ Quartet
New appointment with the AperiJazz formula, this time with the energy and creativity of the APJ Quartet. https://shop.meccanismi.cloud/parcopaternodeltoscano/shopping/details/3315
Sept. 25 - Simona Trentacoste Special Quartet
The warm and refined voice of Simona Trentacoste, accompanied by a quartet of excellent musicians, will close the 2025 summer season of Jazz in the Park with an elegant and exciting concert.
https://shop.meccanismi.cloud/parcopaternodeltoscano/shopping/details/3442
Additional dates being updated
🎯 The values of the project
- Landscape as a co-star: The Park is not background, but an integral part of the concert.
- Care and sustainability: events designed with the environment and community in mind.
- Dialogue between generations: the Park as an educational space for youth and families.
- Artistic quality: prominent musicians, original productions and dedicated programs.
- Inclusion and accessibility: concerts that unite diverse people around music and nature.
🌍 A garden that becomes culture
Jazz in the Park represents a significant step in the opening of the Toscano Paternò Park, which from a private place of exceptional botanical value is now, thanks to the generosity of the Paternò family, increasingly a shared good: a special resource for Sant'Agata li Battiati, for the entire Etnean territory, a destination for schoolchildren and tourists, who in the guided tour are immersed in an emotional journey.
Thanks to the synergy between the association Musikante and the Paternò family, this garden becomes stage of art, confirming how jazz and nature, together, can generate authentic emotions and create a more aware and participatory community.
🤝 Credits
Concept and production: Musikante Association/Parco Paternò del Toscano
Hospitality and curatorship: Stena Paternò
Artistic direction: Antonio Petralia
📍 Location: Paternò del Toscano Park, Via Roma 59 - Sant'Agata li Battiati (CT) https://www.parcopaternodeltoscano.it/
📩 Info & contacts: info@parcopaternodeltoscano.it +39 335 5387858
📩 Info & concerts: info@musikante.eu +39 345 7447035 - www.musikante.eu