Ancient Flavors Festival

A village tradition spanning twenty-three editions

The Ancient Flavors Festival is one of the most anticipated summer events in the Agro Caleno area. It takes place in Partignano, a hamlet of the municipality of Pignataro Maggiore, in the province of Caserta, in the heart of Campania. In 2026, the event reached its twenty-third edition, maintaining a formula that has remained largely unchanged over the years: rustic cuisine served in the square, live music every evening, and a commitment to charity that gives the entire festival its purpose.

It is organized by the association Insieme per l'Unità dei Popoli APS, active since 2002 with international cooperation and local support projects. This is not a commercial festival: dozens of local volunteers work in the kitchen, at the tables, and at the cash registers—many returning every year for two decades—and every euro raised has a pre-determined destination.

What to eat

The menu tells the story of the humble cuisine of the Caserta plains, the food of farming households, with some incursions into the specialties of neighboring regions. Among the dishes found at the stands every year:

• Pettole e fagioli, the festival's signature dish and the most requested by visitors
• Soffritto, the traditional meat and chili preparation served piping hot
• Guanti, the typical dessert of the Agro Caleno, prepared strictly by hand by local housewives during the event
• Pizza figliata, a rolled pastry made with walnuts and honey
• Arrosticini di pecora (sheep skewers), mugnoli and sausage, porchetta di Ariccia
• Pizza baked in a wood-fired oven or fried, and local buffalo mozzarella
• Local wine and draft beer

The service is the classic style of village festivals: you choose at the counters, pay per dish, and sit at the tables set up in the square. Entrance to the festival area is free.

Music and dancing in the square

Every evening, Piazza Alcide De Gasperi turns into an open-air dance floor. The program alternates between Neapolitan sounds, 70s, 80s, and 90s revivals, medleys of Italian songs, and live bands with brass and vocals. Next to the stage, there is also space for games and activities designed for children, ensuring the festival remains an evening suitable for the whole family.

A festival that funds solidarity projects

This is the aspect that truly distinguishes the event: the proceeds do not stay in the till. The funds raised in Partignano support a series of projects managed directly by the association every year:

• Expanding access to drinking water in Burundi
• Building a nursery school in Guinea-Bissau
• A free summer canteen for fifty children in Naples
• Supporting the parish Caritas of Pignataro Maggiore

The 2025 edition closed with a collection of 41,113.10 euros, a result that measures the community's participation: eating at the festival means, very concretely, contributing to these projects.

Pignataro Maggiore and the Agro Caleno

Pignataro Maggiore is a municipality in the Caserta plain, in the area historically known as Agro Caleno, a land of vineyards, buffalo farms, and traditional cuisine. Partignano is one of its hamlets: a cluster gathered around the square, which for five evenings a year becomes the center of gravity for the entire surrounding area. Visitors from outside the province will find here a non-touristy and very authentic opportunity to connect with the inland Campania, the kind that does not appear in guidebooks.

Who is it recommended for?

The Ancient Flavors Festival is an event suitable for those looking for the true taste of Caserta cuisine without spending much, for families with children, groups of friends, and anyone who wants to combine a pleasant evening with a concrete cause. The advice is to arrive early, around opening time, because on the central weekend evenings the square fills up quickly and the pettole run out sooner than expected.