Casalduni Carnival

A local celebration in the heart of Sannio

The Casalduni Carnival is the event with which Casalduni, a small town in the province of Benevento, Campania, bids farewell to the Carnival season. Rather than the large-scale float parades found in some neighboring Sannio towns, this is an intimate, family-oriented village festival: on the afternoon of Shrove Tuesday, the community gathers in Piazza Municipio, in front of the town hall, for a few hours of music, masks, and confetti.

This is Carnival as it is still lived in the inland villages of Campania. There are no grand stages or ticket offices: just children in costume taking over the square, adults accompanying them, makeshift stalls selling sweets, and music that kicks off once the square is full. For those seeking the most authentic Italian traditions rather than major tourist events, this small Sannio Carnival is the perfect occasion.

Masks, confetti, and folk dances

The program is never particularly complex, which is precisely where its charm lies. In recent editions, the afternoon has unfolded as follows:

• gathering in the early afternoon in Piazza Municipio, in the center of Casalduni;
• an informal parade of masks and costumes, with the little ones as the absolute stars;
• showers of confetti and streamers throughout the square;
• music and traditional Sannio folk dances, featuring tarantellas and songs in the local dialect;
• an entirely outdoor party, open to residents and visitors from neighboring towns.

The motto accompanying the day is the classic Italian Carnival saying — "a Carnevale ogni scherzo vale" (at Carnival, anything goes) — and the celebration deliberately maintains a spontaneous character, where the line between audience and participants practically disappears.

The Fontanavecchia folk group

The true hallmark of the Casalduni Carnival is the presence of the Fontanavecchia folk group, a historic Casalduni ensemble that has spent years preserving the local repertoire of folk songs and dances. In 2025, it was this group that brought the square to life during the Shrove Tuesday festivities.

Their activity extends beyond the village: Fontanavecchia is regularly invited to accompany parades at other Sannio carnivals, such as the San Lorenzo Maggiore Carnival and the Limatola Carnival, and they are also key players in the Folklore Festival held in Casalduni during the summer alongside the Ammugliatiello Festival. Finding them in Piazza Municipio at Carnival means listening to folk music performed by those who practice it year-round, not just a simple background soundtrack.

Recent documented editions

• 2024: Tuesday, February 13, starting at 4:30 PM, in Piazza Municipio;
• 2025: Tuesday, March 4, starting at 3:30 PM, in Piazza Municipio, featuring the Fontanavecchia folk group.

The date changes every year as it follows the liturgical calendar: the Casalduni Carnival always falls on Shrove Tuesday, which can occur anywhere between the first half of February and early March. Those wishing to attend should therefore check the announcements published by the Municipality of Casalduni and the Pro Loco in the weeks prior.

Casalduni, the village hosting the festival

Casalduni is one of the largest municipalities in the province of Benevento, with a territory fragmented into about twenty districts scattered among vineyards, olive groves, and chestnut woods, crossed by the Alenta stream and its small waterfalls. The ancient core preserves traces of its Norman feudal origins, with its turreted castle and the Church of the Assumption, and the town's memory is marked by the massacre of August 14, 1861, when the community paid a very high price during the post-unification repression.

This context helps explain why traditional festivals matter so much here: they are the moment when a village spread across dozens of districts comes together in a single place, the square in front of the Town Hall.

Why it is worth a visit

The Casalduni Carnival does not require more than an afternoon and combines well with a day in the Sannio region: neighboring towns organize larger float parades during the same period, and the area is famous for its wines — Falanghina and Aglianico del Taburno — and for its rustic, characterful cuisine. Those arriving in Casalduni for Shrove Tuesday will find a small, free, and genuinely popular celebration: a fragment of rural Campania that continues to celebrate as it always has.