Angiolillo Folk Festival (Angiolillo Award)

An evening that brings the world to the town square

In the hinterland of the province of Salerno, the town of San Gregorio Magno hosts one of the most anticipated evenings of its summer calendar every year in early August. The Angiolillo Folk Festival is one of the most evocative events in Campania dedicated to folk music and ethnic culture: for one night, Piazza Municipio becomes an open-air stage where national and international folk groups perform, showcasing traditional songs, dances, and period costumes.

The festival is curated by the Gruppo Folklorico Gregoriano, a historic local association led by Francesco Tortoriello, former regional president of the Italian Federation of Popular Traditions (FITP). It is this federative network that allows the small town in the Salerno region to host groups from distant countries year after year.

From the Salerno region to the Balkans, Africa, and Latin America

The formula is well-established: the national anthems of the guest countries open the evening, followed by performances from the youngest members of the Gruppo Folklorico Gregoriano and invited Italian groups, before the stage is handed over to the international companies. Past editions have featured groups from Croatia, Serbia, Russia, Bulgaria, South Africa, Mexico, and Kenya, alongside Italian ensembles such as the "Il Platano" folk group from nearby Ricigliano or "I Picciotti di Rafadali" from Sicily.

It is not just a show: the festival was born as an opportunity for cultural exchange, a dialogue between peoples conducted through the universal language of dance and oral tradition music. For the local audience, it is also a way to recognize, in the steps and fabrics of groups arriving from other continents, gestures and sounds surprisingly close to those of their own peasant memory.

The Angiolillo Award

The most significant moment of the evening is the presentation of the Angiolillo Award, assigned by the Gruppo Folklorico Gregoriano. The award is named after Angelo Duca (1734-1784), known as Angiolillo, a brigand originally from San Gregorio Magno whose figure has entered the popular legend of Southern Italy and has long been a subject of historical study. The award is given to scholars and personalities who have distinguished themselves in research on popular traditions and the dialects of the area: past winners include Benito Ripoli, national president of the FITP, Dr. Ilenia Stanzione, author of a thesis on the Gregorian "Turniata," and Vincenzo Andriuolo, a scholar of the Teggiano dialect.

Part of the Estate Gregoriana

The Angiolillo Folk Festival is not an isolated event: it is part of the Estate Gregoriana (Gregorian Summer), the program that animates San Gregorio Magno from June to September with religious, sporting, and gastronomic appointments. In the same month of August, the Bacco Festival and, above all, Baccanalia—the town's most famous event, which opens the 600+ centenary cellars carved into the rock along Via Bacco to the public—take place. Those planning a stay in this area of Campania can therefore combine multiple events within a few weeks.

Why visit

• One of the few international folk festivals in the Salerno hinterland, featuring groups from three or four different nations each year.
• Authentic setting: a town square, not a theater, with the audience seated and standing until late in the evening.
• A cultural award that promotes research into the popular traditions and dialects of the South.
• Parade of groups in costume through the village streets before the evening show.
• The chance to combine the visit with the historic cellars of Via Bacco and other Estate Gregoriana events.