Cantariello Summer Festival

An ancient celebration by the waters of Cantariello

The Cantariello Summer Festival is one of the most deeply rooted traditions in the hamlet of Quaglietta, part of the Municipality of Calabritto in the province of Avellino, Campania. It is held in the Cantariello locality, a cool, shaded corner of the upper Sele Valley where a spring feeds a small stream, creating a natural amphitheatre of greenery. It is here, away from the village center, that the community gathers every summer for an evening that combines devotion, conviviality, and local flavors.

July 2nd, the day of Our Lady of Graces

The date is no coincidence: the festival falls on July 2nd, a day traditionally dedicated to Our Lady of Graces. Local sources describe it as an "ancient traditional feast," a sign of a custom passed down through generations and never truly interrupted. The event comes to life starting at 8:30 PM, when the air cools down and the area fills with families, groups of friends, and those returning to the village for the summer.

Folk music and local cuisine

The heart of the evening is the shared outdoor table: tastings of typical Irpinian products, peasant dishes from the upper Sele Valley, and local wines accompany the festivities. The soundtrack is provided by folk music, with repertoires of traditional songs and tarantellas that invite dancing late into the night. It is a simple, well-established format that has made this festival an opportunity to rediscover the nature and gastronomy of the area together.

• Tasting of typical products and traditional local dishes
• Live folk music and outdoor dancing
• Natural setting, between the Cantariello spring and the Sele river
• Family-friendly event, suitable for all ages

Quaglietta, a Lombard village in the Picentini Mountains

Quaglietta is a hamlet of Calabritto located at an altitude of about 260 meters, a few kilometers from the municipal seat, to which it was annexed in 1928. Its medieval village, dominated by the Lombard fortress, is one of the most striking testimonies of Lombard rule in Irpinia: severely damaged by the 1980 earthquake, it has been partially restored and now houses a dispersed hotel. The territory of the Picentini Mountains Regional Park extends around it, between Mount Marzano and Mount Boschetiello, in one of the most water-rich areas of Campania. Participating in the festival is therefore also a way to discover a village that has remained off the beaten tourist track.

An event by the Pro Loco Aquae Electae

The organization is managed by the Pro Loco Aquae Electae Quaglietta APS, a very active volunteer association that marks the hamlet's summer with a busy calendar of events: excursions along the Sele and towards the waterfalls of the Bard'natore stream, performances in the village such as "The Village of Fairy Tales," and food festivals like ZenziGUSTO, in addition, of course, to the Cantariello Summer Festival. The association's very name, "chosen waters," recalls the water-rich nature of this stretch of the valley.

Why attend

Those looking for an authentic festival, free from tourist artifice, will find one of the most genuine examples of inland Campania here: traditional food, live music, an exceptional natural setting, and the typical hospitality of Irpinian towns. It is a short event, concentrated into a single day, but capable of capturing the atmosphere of village festivals of the past, when people would head out of town to celebrate by the water.