Balloni in Festa

Balloni in Festa: three nights of tradition in the Garden City

Balloni in Festa is the summer festival of Casalduni, a village of just over a thousand inhabitants in the province of Benevento, in the heart of the Sannio region of Campania. The event takes place in the Città Giardino (Garden City), a landscaped green space that hosts the stage, food stalls, and local craft areas each year. For three days, the village opens its doors to visitors to showcase its rural identity, with free admission and a programme blending live music, theatre, and tastings.

A young yet established festival

Launched in 2023, the festival has grown rapidly: the third edition took place in June 2025, followed by the fourth in June 2026, now firmly set for the last weekend of the month. The event is organised by the Pro Loco of Casalduni and the Gruppo folk Fontanavecchia, in collaboration with the Municipality of Casalduni, the Youth Forum, UNPLI Benevento, and the «La vita d'na vota» Rural Museum. This collaborative network gives the festival its unique character: it is not an imported event, but a collective effort involving local families and the village's youth.

Folk music at the heart of the programme

The common thread of Balloni in Festa is Southern folk music. Over the years, the Città Giardino stage has hosted groups performing tarantellas, pizzicas, saltarellos, and tammurriatas, often with a modern twist, followed by DJ sets that keep the night going. In 2026, the festival hosted I Bottari di Macerata Campania, one of the most iconic acts of the Campanian musical tradition, known for their percussion on barrels, vats, and scythes; the previous year featured the Salento-based group Alla Bua and the band Taranta 3.

• Folk and traditional music: tarantellas, pizzicas, tammurriatas, and traditional Campanian percussion
• Tribute bands and pop music: opening nights designed for a wide audience
• Local youth bands: performances by the Lizard Accademia Musicale and Island APS
• Folk theatre: storytelling performances linked to the village's memory
• Local crafts: exhibition spaces dedicated to the trades and products of the Sannio region

Ammugliatiello and the flavours of Sannio

Throughout the event, food stalls serve local specialties. The signature dish is the ammugliatiello casaldunese, a roll of lamb offal wrapped around a wooden skewer, seasoned with garlic, parsley, cheese, and chilli, then grilled. It is a humble, ancient recipe widespread in inland Campania and particularly in Sannio, where it is celebrated as a symbol of the village's identity. Alongside it, visitors can find cured meats, cheeses, traditional pasta dishes, and wines from the province of Benevento, one of Campania's most important wine-growing areas. Prices remain affordable, in line with local village festivals.

Casalduni, a Sannio village to discover

Casalduni is located about twenty kilometres from Benevento, in a hilly area marked by the Alenta stream and nature trails. The village preserves a 15th-century ducal castle and the church of San Rocco, and celebrates its patron saint, the Madonna del Carmelo, on 16 July. Visitors arriving for Balloni in Festa can also take the opportunity to stroll through the historic centre and visit the «La vita d'na vota» Rural Museum, which houses tools and testimonies of Sannio's rural civilisation.

Why you should attend

Balloni in Festa is a prime example of a well-organised village festival: free, outdoors, family-friendly, and featuring a musical programme that goes beyond simple dance repertoires. Those who want to experience summer in the villages of inland Campania, far from the tourist routes of the coast, will find three authentic and welcoming evenings here, where folk music is not just postcard folklore, but a living language.