Bacco Festival
Three nights of music in the cellar district of San Gregorio Magno
About Bacco Festival
Three days dedicated to music
The Bacco Festival is the music series that brings San Gregorio Magno to life every summer. This town of just under four thousand inhabitants, nestled at an altitude of about 475 meters in the province of Salerno, Campania, sits between the Tanagro Valley and the slopes of the Alburni Mountains. Local sources describe it as "three days dedicated to music and the promotion of the village," curated by the Bacco Festival Association and designed to offer visitors "an immersive experience between entertainment and conviviality."
A village carved into the rock
The natural stage for the event is the historic center, dominated by the Via Bacco district: a maze of alleys lined with over six hundred centuries-old cellars carved into the rock. This unique heritage of rupestrian architecture in Southern Italy was originally created to store wine from the surrounding hills and has since become the village's defining symbol. The festival evenings are centered around Piazza Bacco, the heart of this district; music drifts through the caves, stone walls, and staircases, creating an acoustic and scenic effect that no open-air theater could replicate.
What the festival offers
The Bacco Festival represents the younger, more contemporary side of the Gregorian tradition. In previous editions, the event has paired evening concerts with a music contest for original songs, open to musicians from all over Italy and judged by a jury chaired by maestro Ciro Barbato, a former Sanremo orchestra conductor and music professor. Beyond the stage, the program has also included a literary salon set up in the Via Bacco cellars in the late afternoon, complete with a food and aperitif area, the "Le Baccanti" photography exhibition by Alfred Marino, and performances by local folk groups and singer-songwriters. Music, art, literature, culture, traditions, and fine cuisine: this is the formula the association has built around the name of Bacco.
Part of the Gregorian Summer
The Bacco Festival is not an isolated event but a key part of the Estate Gregoriana, the summer calendar promoted by the Municipality of San Gregorio Magno together with the Pro Loco, the Youth Forum, and local associations, presented every year at Palazzo Sant'Agostino, the seat of the Province of Salerno. The calendar runs from June to September and features some of the most iconic events in the Salerno hinterland:
- The Feast of San Vito with the historic Turniata, where farmers and shepherds lead flocks and herds in three ceremonial laps around the church: one of the most fascinating anthropological and religious rituals in Campania;
- The San Vito Tournament, a youth soccer tournament organized by the Leoncini Gregoriani Soccer School;
- The Angiolillo Folk Festival, featuring national and international folk groups in Piazza Municipio, organized by the Gregorian Folk Group;
- The Bacco Festival, the three musical nights organized by the association of the same name;
- The Baccanalia, the great wine festival of the Pro Loco that opens the Via Bacco cellars and attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, awarded as a "Quality Festival" by the UNPLI at the Senate of the Republic;
- The Patronal Feast in September, which closes the season in Piazza Amendola.
Why it's worth the trip
Those who arrive in San Gregorio Magno for the Bacco Festival find an intimate and authentic setting, far from the large coastal festivals of Campania. The audience consists largely of residents and those returning to the village for the summer, but the openness to young musicians has progressively widened the visitor base. It is also an opportunity to learn about a village with much to tell: the musical tradition linked to the organetto, ciaramella, and zampogna, documented by ethnomusicologist Roberto De Simone, and the rustic cuisine of the Alburni mountains.
What to expect
- Open-air evenings in the squares and alleys of the historic center, with music as the common thread.
- Space for emerging artists and original works, alongside local folk music.
- Widespread cultural moments: readings, exhibitions, and meetings in the rock-carved cellars.
- Conviviality and local cuisine, with dedicated food and aperitif areas.
- A village in the Salerno hinterland that fills up and transforms into a stage during the summer.
Bacco Festival — edition 2026
The 2026 Bacco Festival
The Bacco Festival returns to San Gregorio Magno, in the province of Salerno, from Monday, August 10 to Wednesday, August 12, 2026. The dates were made official during the presentation conference of the 2026 Gregorian Summer, hosted on June 11 at Palazzo Sant'Agostino, the seat of the Province of Salerno, in the presence of provincial administrators, the mayor, and representatives of the village's associations.
The program describes the event as "three days dedicated to music and the promotion of the village," curated by the Bacco Festival Association and designed to offer "an immersive experience between entertainment and conviviality." The festival is positioned halfway between two historic events of the Gregorian calendar: the Angiolillo Folk Festival on August 6, with national and international folk groups in Piazza Municipio, and the 33rd edition of the Baccanalia, scheduled from August 19 to 23 along Via Bacco.
The 2026 edition of the Gregorian Summer is promoted by the Municipality of San Gregorio Magno together with the Pro Loco, the Youth Forum, and local associations, with a program that runs from June to September and adds numerous new features dedicated to youth and sports to the historic events.
Programme Bacco Festival 2026
Bacco Festival 2026 — August 10, 11, and 12
The three evenings of the festival take place in the historic center of San Gregorio Magno. Local sources confirm the dates and the format—three days of music curated by the Bacco Festival Association—but as of our check, the detailed program has not yet been published: names of artists, times, and exact locations of the performances will be released by the organizers in the weeks leading up to the event, on the social media channels of the association and the Municipality.
Gregorian Summer 2026 Calendar
- June 15 — Feast of San Vito and historic "Turniata": farmers and shepherds lead flocks and herds in three ceremonial laps around the church.
- June 13-21 — San Vito Tournament, 25th edition, organized by the Leoncini Gregoriani Soccer School.
- August 6 — Angiolillo Folk Festival in Piazza Municipio, with national and international folk groups, organized by the Gregorian Folk Group.
- August 10-12 — Bacco Festival, three days of music organized by the Bacco Festival Association.
- August 19-23 — Baccanalia, 33rd edition, with the extraordinary opening of over 600 historic centuries-old cellars carved into the rock along Via Bacco.
- September 7 — Patronal Feast of San Gregorio Magno in Piazza Amendola in Piazza Amendola, with a concert by Gianmarco Carroccia and the "Emozioni" tour dedicated to the Battisti-Mogol repertoire.
Highlights Bacco Festival 2026
- Three consecutive evenings of live music in the historic center of San Gregorio Magno, from August 10 to 12, 2026.
- A festival curated by a local association, with a special focus on young people and emerging artists.
- The setting of the Via Bacco cellar district, over six hundred centuries-old caves carved into the rock.
- Part of the Gregorian Summer, between the Angiolillo Folk Festival on August 6 and the Baccanalia on August 19-23.
- An opportunity to visit the Salerno hinterland between the Alburni Mountains and the Tanagro Valley in the height of summer.
Prices Bacco Festival 2026
Practical information — Bacco Festival
How to get there
By car: from the A2 del Mediterraneo motorway, take the exit for Sicignano degli Alburni and continue on the Sicignano-Potenza motorway junction towards Buccino, from where you can reach San Gregorio Magno via provincial roads; the village is about 70 km from Salerno and just over 100 km from Naples. By train: the nearest useful station is Contursi Terme, on the Salerno-Potenza line, with a connection by bus or taxi. By plane: Naples-Capodichino airport is about an hour and a half away by car.
Where it takes place
The events are concentrated in the historic center of San Gregorio Magno, around Piazza Bacco and the Via Bacco cellar district. The village is hilly and largely cobbled: comfortable shoes are recommended.
Tickets
Local sources do not publish entry fees for the Bacco Festival. It is advisable to check access conditions and any ticket requirements on the channels of the Bacco Festival Association and the Municipality of San Gregorio Magno before traveling.
Tips
Those with a few days to spare can combine the festival with the Baccanalia, which takes place in the same month and the same cellar district, and a visit to the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. Accommodation in the village is limited: it is best to book in advance among the farmhouses and bed and breakfasts in the area of Buccino, Contursi Terme, and Auletta.
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Where does it take place — Bacco Festival
Piazza Bacco e centro storico di San Gregorio Magno