The Rossini Opera Festival (frequently referred to among musicians as the Pesaro Festival) is a festival held in August of each year in Pesaro, Italy, the birthplace of the opera composer Gioacchino Rossini
The Festival was established in 1980 for giving performances of Rossini's operas and to give to support to the publishing critical editions of Rossini's complete works in collaboration with the Ricordi publishing house in Milan.
On 13 August 1993, the Italian parliament unanimously approved the Special Law N. 319 "Regulations in support of the Rossini Opera Festival", which recognizes the Pesaro Festival's achievements in the reviving of Rossini's operas as entitled to be included among the state-supervised works of restoration of the national artistic heritage. The ensuing grant -- of which parliament has recently approved the continuation - is financed from the funds of the Beni Culturali.
The Rossini Festival as seen many of Rossini's lesser-known works revived, some of which have since entered the standard operatic repertoire.
