Bud & Terence Fest

An Irpinian tribute to Bud Spencer and Terence Hill

Some films in Italy have never truly stopped airing: the brawls, the beans, the beers downed in one gulp, and the music of the Oliver Onions are part of the collective imagination of multiple generations. The Bud & Terence Fest was born from this very spirit in the municipality of Chiusano di San Domenico, in the province of Avellino, in the heart of Irpinia. It is not a film festival in the strict sense, but a village fair built around a popular myth: that of Carlo Pedersoli, known as Bud Spencer, and Mario Girotti, known as Terence Hill.

The formula: one day, one village, one Western set

The event is concentrated into a single summer day, almost always a Saturday between July and August. Food stalls open by midday, and the village center gradually fills with themed decorations, costumes, gadgets, and screenings dedicated to the famous duo's films. As the hours pass, the festival shifts gears: first meetings and interviews with guests, then popular games, and finally the concert that closes the evening.

The ingredients that return edition after edition are now iconic:

• the beer-drinking contest paired with sausages or the famous beans, a true cinematic reference turned into a collective game;
• the cosplay contest, with the public dressing up as characters from the films;
• screenings of famous scenes and Far West-style sets curated by the Camposecco Far West association;
• food stalls featuring typical Irpinian products;
• the final concert by the Dune Buggy Band.

The Dune Buggy Band, the festival's soundtrack

The most anticipated moment is the show by the Dune Buggy Band, a group specializing in the repertoire of Spencer and Hill's films. The band performs live tracks composed by Oliver Onions, Ennio Morricone, and Franco Micalizzi, accompanying the music with costumes and projections of film scenes. It is a concert that acts as a collective ritual: the audience sings along to tunes known since childhood, and families with children remain in the square until late at night.

Guests who have graced the editions

The festival has successfully brought direct protagonists of that world to Irpinia. In the July 13, 2024 edition, Cristiana Pedersoli, Bud Spencer's daughter, was a guest and presented her book Un gigante per papà. On August 9, 2025, for the fourth edition, Giuseppe Pedersoli, the actor's son, arrived alongside Maurizio Tori, Ottaviano Dell'Acqua, and Santino Scarpa for an evening of interviews and shared memories with the public.

Irpinian cuisine

The culinary aspect is not just a side dish but one of the reasons people travel from neighboring towns. The stalls offer local specialties: spit-roasted pig, skewers, sausage sandwiches, 'hanged' caciocavallo cheese, french fries, and, of course, the beans made famous by the film scenes, all paired with local wine. In a province known for its great white and red wines — Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo, Taurasi — the wine list is never a secondary detail.

Chiusano di San Domenico, between Irpinia and Campania

Chiusano di San Domenico is a small municipality in Irpinia, the inland, mountainous area of Campania that surrounds Avellino. It is a territory of forests, chestnut groves, and hilltop villages, very different from the coastal image usually associated with the region. Here, summer is marked by a long municipal calendar of events that weaves together food festivals, hikes, concerts, and activities for children: the Bud & Terence Fest has become one of the most recognizable moments of this calendar, capable of attracting curious visitors from outside the province.

Who is it recommended for?

This festival is especially suitable for families, groups of friends, and fans of popular Italian cinema. The atmosphere is simple and convivial, typical of Southern village festivals: you eat outdoors, chat, laugh, and end the evening in front of the stage. Those looking for a glitzy event will find something else; those looking for the genuine Italy of summer squares are in the right place.