A Lake of Stars and Wishes: August 19 in Campo di Giove
On August 19, 2026, from 7:00 PM, the shores of the Lago Ticino Oasis — the only lentic habitat in the Maiella National Park — will host “A Lake of Stars and Wishes” (“Un Lago di Stelle e di Desideri”): an evening combining insight and astronomical observation to discover the night sky of Campo di Giove. It opens at 7:00 PM with the conference “The Economy of Space”, with Prof. Alessandro Sarra, Director of the Department of Economics at the G. D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara. At 7:30 PM, an aperitif dinner, and from 9:00 PM, astronomical observation.
The event is promoted by Astronomitaly and Tavola Rotonda – Cooperativa di Comunità, under the patronage of the Municipality of Campo di Giove. Limited capacity, booking required.
The evening will be led by Fabrizio Marra, owner of Astronomitaly, who from 9:00 PM will guide the public in telescope observations from the shores of Lago Ticino, where public lighting already respectful of the night sky favors observation of the night sky. Nearby, the “Porta del Tramonto” viewpoint also offers a privileged view of the Milky Way.
The evening begins with Vega and the Summer Triangle, then explores the Milky Way through the telescope and points toward increasingly distant objects: a star cluster, a nebula, Saturn with its rings and, weather permitting, even the Andromeda Galaxy — more than 2 million light-years away, the farthest point visible to the naked eye from Earth.
Campo di Giove is a municipality in the Maiella National Park, at the foot of Monte Amaro, a historic destination for hikers and mountain lovers and, in recent years, the summer training base of Pescara Calcio. To the charm of its trails, villages and sporting vocation is now added a new astrotourism proposal, designed for those who want to discover the area at night too, under a starry sky.
«You immediately understand when a place has something special: for me, it was observing the Ring Nebula despite the full moon, in Campo di Giove. Since we published a photo of that evening and started telling the story, requests keep coming in for tailor-made private observations for couples, small groups and families, who choose to stay in the area. A slow form of tourism that’s good for the local area, and one that I wouldn’t rule out could lead to a candidacy among Italy’s Most Beautiful Skies», says Fabrizio Marra, founder of Astronomitaly.
Booking required. For more information and location contacts: the event listing on astrotourism.com.