Apricot Festival (Sagra della Crisommola)

A festival in the shadow of Vesuvius

The Apricot Festival in Pollena Trocchia, a town in the province of Naples, Campania, is one of those grassroots events that stays true to its neighborhood roots. It is organized by the San Giacomo Apostolo Parish, which transforms Piazza Amodio for two evenings into a large communal courtyard filled with stalls, the scent of ripe fruit, and music. The star of the show is the iconic fruit of this corner of Vesuvius: the crisommola, the Neapolitan dialect name for the apricots grown on the slopes of the volcano.

The crisommola, yellow gold of the volcanic lands

The term 'crisommola' comes from crisomela, a variety described as early as 1583 by the Neapolitan naturalist Giovan Battista Della Porta, who distinguished the finest apricots from common ones in his writings. In the Vesuvius area, there are over forty different varieties—such as Ceccona, Palummella, San Castrese, Vitillo, Fracasso, and Portici—all sharing a sugary pulp, intense aroma, and yellow-orange skin shaded or speckled with red.

This is thanks to the volcanic soil, rich in potassium, which gives the fruit a sweetness hard to find elsewhere. The harvest begins in mid-June, which is why the festival takes place at that time of year, when the crisommola is at its peak ripeness and arrives at the stalls freshly picked. Cultivation spans about seventeen Vesuvius municipalities, from Ercolano to Somma Vesuviana, and Pollena Trocchia is among the most renowned.

What to taste

• Artisanal jams and preserves prepared at home using local apricots;
• Traditional desserts made with crisommola, from tarts to family-recipe treats;
• Grilled sandwiches and local gastronomic specialties;
• A selection of typical products from the Vesuvius area.

This is not a gourmet festival with guest chefs: the cooking is done by parish volunteers, and that is precisely where the value of the event lies, offering the authentic flavor of traditional Campanian village festivals.

Music, dance, and folk songs

The evenings usually begin around 8:30 PM and continue with entertainment, live music, dancing, and folk songs: a repertoire that draws heavily on Neapolitan tradition and brings together families, young people, and the elderly in the same space. The square remains the heart of the festival, with stalls arranged all around and people moving from one to another until late at night.

A festival with a strong charitable spirit

The Apricot Festival is not just a gastronomic event. The proceeds from the evenings support parish activities, particularly social projects and initiatives aimed at the youth and families of the local community. It is the same spirit that drives the oratory throughout the year: to value the traditions of the Vesuvius territory while raising resources for those in need.

Pollena Trocchia, between Vesuvius and Monte Somma

A scattered municipality of about 12,600 inhabitants at an altitude of 240 meters, Pollena Trocchia lies entirely within the Vesuvius National Park and retains the character of the agricultural villages of the foothills, marked by eruptions—the 1631 one was devastating—and reborn each time thanks to the extraordinary fertility of the soil. The patron saint is San Giacomo Apostolo, celebrated on July 25th with a procession and concerts in Piazza Amodio. A fun fact: in 1835, Gaetano Donizetti stayed here and composed some pages of Lucia di Lammermoor.

The 2026 edition

At the time of this update, the San Giacomo Apostolo Parish has not yet released the dates and program for the 2026 edition. The event is traditionally held in the second half of June, coinciding with the crisommola harvest: it is advisable to keep an eye on the parish channels and local Vesuvius press for the final calendar.