Francesca Mariano (Francesca Heart) is an Italian grammy-nominated composer, producer and performer. With volcanic and marine roots in Southern Italy, her sound weaves emotional landscapes informed by mediterranean mythology. Her evolving palette of productions include Eurybia and Sphinx Nouvelle, released by the US pioneering label Leaving Records and have received praise from Pitchfork, Vogue Italia, Bandcamp Daily, and others for their visionary fusion of ambient, ceremonial, and electronic forms.

She investigates how bodies- human, more-than-human, geological- carry memory, myth, and transformation. Her work is driven by the belief that listening is a radical tool for reconfiguring our relationship with the earth and the cosmos. Her research mainly focuses on the Mediterranean as a resonant body, a space of stratified histories and echoes of imagination. Her approach to music is at once playful and research-focused, with a passion for cinematic textures inspired by 80s and 90s composers such as Eric Serra, Joanna Brouk and Iasos and 2000s’ videogame sounds she used to play as a child with her brother. 

Alongside her productions, she teaches embodied methodologies. She trained in postmodern dance and expressive arts therapy with Anna Halprin at Tamalpa Institute (USA), founding Serpentine Dance Studio in 2019, a studio for movement and voice health based in Milan and online. She is also the co-founder of Nuova Atlantide, a collective platform for interdisciplinary and site-based practices in Bomarzo and of Archaeo-Choreology, a reasearch practice on somatic health.

Francesca has performed in dialogue with artists including Kamasi Washington, Carlos Niño, Saul Williams, Vica Pacheco, and more. Her collaborations span experimental music, performance art and installations, establishing her as a unique voice in contemporary interdisciplinary practice.

Alongside her personal work, she composes and choreographs for film, fashion, and documentary.
Francesca has been selected for Shape+ artist (2023/24), part of a pan-European platform supporting new voices in experimental art and sound. 


Selected performances and collaborations

Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Museo MADRE, Somerset House, C2C Festival, the University of California Santa Barbara, Istituto Svizzero, MAO Torino, CTM Festival, Rewire Festival, de Young Museum, Nextones, VIDEOCITTÀ, Botanique, Fiber Festival, the AA School of Architecture, Leaving Records, Palermo Living Pavillion, Officina Santa Maria Novella, Fodazione Sozzani, LOST Festival, East Contemporary, Garbage Core, Maison Margiela, Balenciaga, Valentino, NIKE, Roberto Cavalli, Ferrari and more. 


Education and Trainings

Tamalpa Institute (USA) - Movement, Dance & Expressive Arts Therapy / training with Anna Halprin, Daria Halprin, Dohee Lee

Silvestre Dance Technique (Brazil) - Contemporary Dance / training with Rosangela Silvestre and Vera Passos

Brighton School of Embodied Therapy (UK) / facilitator diploma

University of Sussex (UK) - MA International Relations / Masters thesis on Eco-feminist critique of language and discourse in IR/