Bean Festival

The Bean Festival in Cervino

The Bean Festival is a food and wine event held in Cervino, a small town in the province of Caserta, in the heart of Campania. The first edition took place in July 2025 at the Casa della Vigna, in the Monticello area, organized by the Fare Bene APS association as part of the «Il Vicolo dei Fagioli» project. The event was created with a clear goal: to bring a forgotten legume back into the spotlight and, with it, the entire rural tradition of the Suessola Valley.

The Fagiolo Suscieglio di Cellole

The absolute star of the festival is the Fagiolo Suscieglio di Cellole, an ancient legume that had almost disappeared, now rediscovered as a symbol of territorial identity and food quality. Its cultivation, once widespread in the Caserta countryside, has become a rarity over the years: the festival aims to relaunch its production and share its cultural, gastronomic, and economic value through the taste and memory of the land.

The «Il Vicolo dei Fagioli» Project

The festival is part of the «Il Vicolo dei Fagioli» project, promoted by Fare Bene APS as an example of good agro-social practice. The initiative involves the municipalities of the Suessola Valley — Arienzo, Cervino, San Felice a Cancello, and Santa Maria a Vico — with the vision of transforming the recovery of an ancient crop into an opportunity for growth for the entire valley, bridging agriculture, culture, and the local community.

An event of taste, culture, and territory

The evening at the Casa della Vigna weaves together conviviality and reflection. Alongside official greetings and contributions from agronomists and experts, the public can enjoy a rich journey of flavors and experiences:

• tastings of traditional dishes made with Fagiolo Suscieglio, showcasing rural tradition through taste;
• samples of local products such as oils, honey, and regional meats;
• experiential workshops dedicated to food culture and sustainable agricultural practices;
• musical entertainment in the courtyard of the Casa della Vigna;
• playful activities designed for children, making it a family-friendly festival.

The Suessola Valley and the Casa della Vigna

The setting for the event is the Casa della Vigna, a symbolic place of local rural tradition, nestled in the agricultural landscape surrounding Cervino. The festival acts as a small development laboratory for the Suessola Valley, where the recovery of an indigenous variety becomes a tool for landscape enhancement, biodiversity protection, and the promotion of an authentic corner of the province of Caserta.