A' Cuccìa

A spring festival in the heart of Cilento

A' Cuccìa is the popular festival that brings Casaletto Spartano to life every May 1st. This small town of just over a thousand residents is located in the province of Salerno, in the heart of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. It is not a festival created just to attract tourists; it is an ancient spring farming ritual that the town inherited, lost, and then chose to reclaim. Today, it once again fills Piazza Municipio and the narrow streets of the historic center.

The date is no coincidence. May 1st marked the transition from the end of winter to the new agricultural season, the moment when pantries were emptied and the countryside began to offer its first fruits. Hence the propitiatory nature of the day, centered on sharing rather than abundance.

The Cuccìa: thirteen legumes and a story of solidarity

The heart of the festival is 'A Cuccìa, a hearty legume and cereal soup which, according to local tradition, is prepared with thirteen different varieties. In the past, ingredients were collected house by house, neighborhood by neighborhood: in the days leading up to the festival, families would pool their remaining supplies, often gathered by the youngest who went from door to door. Everything was then cooked in large pots outdoors along the village streets, and the soup was distributed to anyone who showed up.

More than just a dish, the Cuccìa is a gesture of solidarity and cooperation: no one had enough to feed themselves alone, but together everyone ate their fill. Even today, the soup is served for free to participants, which is why the festival remains, first and foremost, a community event rather than a commercial one.

The Cascavallo game

The most anticipated moment of the day, along with the distribution of the soup, is the Cascavallo game. It is an ancient team competition played along the town streets: players challenge each other to throw a wooden caciocavallo—crafted by a local artisan based on the shape of the cheese it is named after—as far as possible.

• Each throw must start exactly from the point where the cascavallo stopped, often on slopes or in awkward positions.
• The winner is the one who covers the greatest distance with the fewest throws: it requires strength, but above all, skill and strategy.
• The final stages determine the roles of the padrone (master) and sotto (subordinate), according to the rules of the old Cilento popular game.
• Registration takes place on-site just before the start: anyone can participate.

Food stalls and live music

In the late afternoon, the square changes its look: food stalls open, serving the Cuccìa and other local specialties, accompanied by wine and craft beer. The evening continues with live music, which in recent years has focused on groups specializing in the popular repertoire and Cilento tarantellas, as well as local bands.

The atmosphere is typical of inland Cilento village festivals: no monumental stages, plenty of people in the streets, families, young people returning for the May 1st long weekend, and visitors arriving from the nearby towns of the Gulf of Policastro.

The RadiCa association and the return of the festival

The credit for the rebirth of A' Cuccìa goes to the RadiCa association, founded by a group of young people from Casaletto Spartano with the aim of promoting active citizenship, social interaction, and research into local traditions. The festival is held under the patronage of the Municipality of Casaletto Spartano and is now one of the events that best captures the identity of the village.

Casaletto Spartano, the village of waterfalls

Those who arrive for the festival find an extra reason to stay: just a few minutes from the center is the Capelli di Venere Oasis, one of the most photographed waterfalls in Campania, fed by the waters of the Rio Bussentino and named after the maidenhair fern that cascades over the rocks. The municipal territory, covering over 70 square kilometers between the 400-meter-high main town and the scattered districts, also includes the hamlet of Battaglia and about thirty small rural settlements.

Between the shared soup, the wooden caciocavallo bouncing on the asphalt, and the waterfalls just a stone's throw away, A' Cuccìa is one of those events that is worth a detour into the most authentic side of Cilento.