Brigantica Folk Fest — Casalduni Stage

A widespread festival in the lands of the rebellious South

The Brigantica Folk Fest is a widespread festival that traverses the villages and towns of the Campanian Apennines to recount the history of post-unification brigandage—a chapter often omitted from school textbooks. Launched in 2025 under the artistic direction of writer and journalist Pino Aprile, the project connects five small municipalities between Sannio and Irpinia—Casalduni, Pontelandolfo, Fragneto Monforte, Pietraroja, and Torrioni—transforming them into a single open-air stage where folk music, theatre, meetings with historians and writers, and historical walks alternate for weeks.

The organizers' stated goal is not nostalgia, but cultural resistance: restoring voice, dignity, and a sense of belonging to communities that paid a heavy price in the years following the Unification of Italy. This led to the choice of a contemporary language—folk concerts, traveling performances, docufilms, and tastings—rather than traditional academic conferences.

Casalduni, a symbolic town of 1861

The Casalduni stage, a town of just over a thousand inhabitants in the province of Benevento, Campania, carries particular weight. On August 11, 1861, a detachment of Piedmontese army soldiers scouting the area was surrounded and killed in the town; in the days that followed, a brutal reprisal occurred, resulting in the burning of Casalduni and the nearby village of Pontelandolfo. These events remain etched in the collective memory of the Sannio region, which is why the festival returns here every August, coinciding with the anniversary.

The village, nestled at an altitude of about 300 meters among hills cultivated with vineyards and olive groves, preserves a compact historic center and twenty-three hamlets scattered across the countryside: it is in one of these, Contrada Tacceto, that the 2026 event is concentrated.

Brigand's Night: the 2026 evening

For the 2026 edition, the Brigantica Folk Fest arrives in Casalduni on Saturday, August 8, with the Brigand's Night, hosted in the vineyards of the Terra di Briganti winery. Guests are welcomed at 8:00 PM, and the evening continues with an informal picnic featuring local products, a live concert by Jen's Groove as the sun sets over the Sannio countryside, and, once night falls, guided stargazing led by the Benevento Amateur Astronomers Group. A simple yet highly effective formula: eat on the grass, listen to live music, and look up at the stars.

What to expect

• Historical storytelling without an academic tone: anecdotes, songs, and narratives about Southern brigandage.
• Live folk and traditional music, featuring Southern ensembles.
• Sannio food and wine: estate wines, cheeses, cured meats, and locally sourced products.
• Educational astronomy, with telescopes and guidance from local amateur astronomers.
• Open-air setting, among vineyards and woods, with limited seating and an intimate atmosphere.

A consolidated tradition

In 2025, the festival's inaugural year, Casalduni hosted three events: the Brigand's Night on August 10 (the night of San Lorenzo), and the "Rotarian Ferragosto with Brigantica" on August 14 and 16, organized by the Rotary Clubs of Valle Telesina and Morcone San Marco dei Cavoti in collaboration with the Municipality and the Pro Loco. The program included a flag-raising ceremony, the "Path of Freedom" walk with Pino Aprile and Gennaro De Crescenzo, a conference on the daily life of brigands, the docufilm "Druda, cuore di donna," a concert by Renanera, and the show "Terroni: la vera storia dell'Unità d'Italia" by Roberto D'Alessandro.

A project supported by the National Single Fund for Tourism

Brigantica is realized with the support of the National Single Fund for Tourism, the Campania Region, and the Ministry of Tourism, with European co-financing. It is a public investment aimed at bringing visitors to inland areas that risk being left off the tourist circuit during the summer: the 2026 calendar also includes stops in Pontelandolfo on August 2 and Pietraroja on August 21 and 23, where the festival integrates with the Local Products Festival.