In Photos: Ortigia Music 2025

Sicily’s Ortigia Music festival was a dreamlike soundscape in early August, with a line-up including Modeselektor, Max Cooper, and Bambounou

2025 marks the first edition of Ortigia Music led by artistic director Rosalie De Meyer, evolving from the festival’s predecessor, Ortigia Sound System, whilst preserving the latter’s spirit. Over three sun-soaked days, the festival took in atmospheric and idyllic sites across the island of Ortigia as well as its neighbouring town, Syracuse, making the most of Mediterranean surrounds.

Rooted in community, with extensive collaboration between local labels and promoters, the festival worked with Sunono Records to deliver daily DJ sets in the town’s market square. The opening night saw a live audio-visual performance from Max Cooper, delivering a hypnotic, immersive part art installation, part dancefloor experience in the heart of the Syracuse’s Antico Mercato.

Meanwhile, sets from Elkka, Salvo Micieli, Andrea Normanno, and former Crack Magazine cover stars Modeselektor, all featured as part of the festival’s two daily boat parties. The scenic trips were overlooked by Ortigia old town as Mount Etna rose in the distance. Back on land, the evening hosted sets from Cristian Croce, Elkka, DJ Python, and Bambounou among the lush gardens of the Epipoli Stage. It’s here the festival closed out, with intimate performances from Nite Fleit, Tatyana Jane, Modeselektor, and DJ Stingray 313.

Soak up the festival’s atmosphere via photographer Mirko Otsuni’s candid moments below.