Candida: History, Places, Flavors and Ancient Crafts

An Irpinian village stepping back in time

Candida is a small town in the province of Avellino, perched on a hill overlooking the Sabato Valley in the heart of Irpinia and inland Campania. For three August evenings, its historic center sheds its daily routine to become a continuous path of alleys, squares, and stairways where people walk, eat, drink, and listen to music. This is the appointment with Candida: History, Places, Flavors and Ancient Crafts, an event promoted by the Pro Loco Candida in collaboration with the municipal administration, which reached its nineteenth edition in 2025.

This is not a festival dedicated to a single product: the concept is broader and encompasses the entire village. The town itself serves as the venue, with its stone houses, grand portals, private courtyards opened for the occasion, and viewpoints overlooking the vine-covered hills.

Rustic flavors and local wines

The food and wine experience remains the beating heart of the event. Along the route, you will find stands offering typical dishes of the Irpinian peasant tradition, cooked according to family recipes and served alongside excellent local wines. The Candida area is part of the hilly district that has made Avellino's winemaking famous, and a glass of wine naturally accompanies every stop of the evening.

• Tastings of rustic and peasant dishes from Irpinia
• Local wines served in spaces set up throughout the historic center
• Typical products and local specialties
• Stations distributed among the alleys, courtyards, and small squares of the village

Ancient crafts and re-enactments

The other soul of the festival is what gives the event its name: ancient arts. During the festival evenings, the village hosts re-enactments of ancient crafts, with performers in period costumes demonstrating the manual skills of the past, alongside photography exhibitions that recount the community's memory. Beside the artisans, there are displays of artifacts and settings that reconstruct domestic environments and workshops of yesteryear.

This is a deliberate choice: more than just summer entertainment, the event serves as a collective exercise in memory, where the community of Candida stages its own history for visitors.

Folk music and nights in the square

Each evening concludes with music. The lineup has always favored folk music and groups tied to the traditions of Southern Italy, accompanied by street artists and roving performances that animate the route as the public strolls by. In the 2025 edition, for instance, the stage featured Riserva Moac, Alla Bua, and the Bottari di Macerata Campania, while late into the night, the party continued in Piazza G. Del Giudice with the Starry Beat format and local DJs.

Why it's worth the trip

Candida has only a few hundred inhabitants and remains a quiet village for the rest of the year: this is precisely why the August event strikes those who visit for the first time. The scale is that of a village, distances are covered on foot in minutes, and the atmosphere remains intimate, free from the crowds of large Campanian summer festivals.

• Free entry to the route and performances in the historic center
• Evening event, starting in the late afternoon or early evening
• Suitable for families, thanks to the pedestrian-friendly spaces of the village
• Excellent base for a day trip among the hilly towns of Irpinia

When it takes place

The event is traditionally scheduled for the first half of August, over three consecutive evenings from Friday to Sunday. Exact dates and the detailed program are announced each year by the Pro Loco Candida and shared by the tourism portals of the Province of Avellino: it is advisable to check them before traveling.