Castelpotano Carnival
From the St. Anthony bonfires to the mask parade: the popular festival of the Sannio village
About Castelpotano Carnival
A Carnival that begins with fire
In Castelpoto, a small municipality in the province of Benevento overlooking the Valle Vitulanese in Campania, the Carnival does not begin with confetti but with burning wood. The date that opens the festive season is January 17th, the day of Saint Anthony the Abbot: in the streets and courtyards of the village, families and groups of friends light bonfires, and that distinct scent of smoke in the air has always been the signal that the Castelpotano Carnival has begun.
It is an ancient custom, far from merely decorative: in past decades, the community would gather around those fires to dance, laugh, exchange well-wishes, and discuss the upcoming harvests. The January fire is both a purification ritual and a gesture of hope for the land, and it remains the most defining moment of the entire festival to this day.
Poverty-stricken masks and begging songs
Local memory preserves the recollection of a Carnival made with little but much imagination. Young people would wander through the village singing folk verses, asking from house to house for a bit of food or a glass of wine; costumes were created from discarded adult clothing, borrowed and adapted, and faces were painted with coal. No store-bought costumes, no expenses: just the inventiveness of those who wanted to overturn the village's roles and hierarchies for a day.
The floats, the decline, and the rebirth
In the eighties and nineties, the Castelpoto Carnival experienced its most lavish season, with imposing allegorical floats that drew visitors from neighboring towns, and with the Malìa Castelpotana group bringing a whirlwind of shouts, drums, and joy to the streets from the morning on. The float parade was held on Shrove Tuesday and was preceded by a mass for the souls in Purgatory, following a blend of sacred and profane typical of Sannio villages. Then, with the new millennium, came a long period of reduced activity, where the festival was reduced to little more than an afternoon in the square.
For some years now, the village has started building again: local associations have put floats back on the drawing board, first as private initiatives and then in a more structured way. It is a deliberate and declared rebirth, which the Pro Loco is explicitly pursuing with the goal of returning to the floats of the eighties.
How it works today
- Gathering in Piazza Garibaldi on the afternoon of Carnival Sunday, in front of the town hall;
- mask parade through the streets of the village, with masked groups, music, and floats created by the associations;
- games and entertainment at the Social Center, with cotton candy and popcorn for children;
- awards ceremony for the most original individual mask and group, decided by a popular jury;
- communal table, with the classic pasta e fagioli offered by the Pro Loco Castelpoto APS and the promotion of local typical products.
A festival built together
The Castelpotano Carnival is today the result of a very broad synergy: the Municipality of Castelpoto, the Pro Loco Castelpoto APS led by Paolo Spagnuolo, the newly established Youth Forum, the Il Mirto Social Cooperative, Lilliput, the L'Agorà Circle, and the SAI work together for the success of the day. This is the reason why the festival is never just a parade: it is an opportunity to circulate relationships, include those living on the margins, and make the village known.
The symbolic closing
The Castelpotano tradition included a precise farewell: a flour-dusted puppet would bid farewell to the community once the Carnival was over, marking the end of the vegetative cycle and, in the same gesture, wishing for an abundant and prosperous life. A detail that speaks volumes about how this festival, behind the joy of the masks, remains deeply tied to the agricultural calendar of the Sannio region.
Why it's worth it
Those looking for the spectacular Carnival of big cities will not find it here. In Castelpoto, one finds something different and rarer: an authentic, free village Carnival, where neighbors build the floats, where the hot dish is shared in the middle of the street, and where the January fire counts just as much as the February parade. For those visiting the Sannio and the Valle Vitulanese in winter, it is the best way to see the interior of Campania without filters.
Castelpotano Carnival — edition 2026
A rebirth edition
The 2026 edition confirmed the restart of the Carnival of Castelpoto, in the Benevento Sannio, after the long period of reduced activity following the nineties. The opening came with the St. Anthony the Abbot bonfires on January 17th, lit by families and groups of friends: the traditional signal that the festive season has begun in Castelpoto.
The parade Sunday
The central moment was Sunday, February 15th, two days before Shrove Tuesday. At 3:30 PM, Piazza Garibaldi filled up for the gathering, then the masked procession crossed the village, bringing music and color to the Social Center, where games and entertainment for children and families continued.
The floats and memory
Among the floats in the parade, the L'Agorà Circle presented a castle-themed float titled Princes and Princesses, dedicated to the memory of Chiara Mancini. Alongside it, floats born from private initiatives and the Youth Forum, recently established in the village, paraded: a concrete sign of the return to the collective construction of floats, a declared goal of the Pro Loco.
Awards and conviviality
At the Social Center, a popular jury declared the winners: the One Piece pirate crew as the most original group and The Ostriches as the most original mask. For the children, clouds of cotton candy and popcorn; for everyone, the classic pasta e fagioli served by the Pro Loco Castelpoto APS.
Programme Castelpotano Carnival 2026
Saturday, January 17th, 2026 — opening
- St. Anthony the Abbot bonfires lit by families and groups of friends in the streets and courtyards of the village: official opening of the Carnival season.
Sunday, February 15th, 2026 — parade
- 3:30 PM — gathering in Piazza Garibaldi;
- mask parade through the village streets, with masked groups and floats, including the Princes and Princesses float by the L'Agorà Circle, dedicated to the memory of Chiara Mancini, and the floats of the Youth Forum and private initiatives;
- at the end of the procession, at the Social Center — hours of games and entertainment for children and families, cotton candy, and popcorn;
- awards ceremony with a popular jury: most original group One Piece, most original mask The Ostriches;
- pasta e fagioli offered to everyone by the Pro Loco Castelpoto APS.
Organization shared between the Municipality of Castelpoto, Pro Loco Castelpoto APS, Youth Forum, Il Mirto Social Cooperative, Lilliput, L'Agorà Circle, and SAI.
Highlights Castelpotano Carnival 2026
- The St. Anthony bonfires on January 17th, the ritual opening of the Castelpotano Carnival.
- The Princes and Princesses float by the L'Agorà Circle, dedicated to the memory of Chiara Mancini.
- The parade debut of the Youth Forum of Castelpoto.
- The awards ceremony entrusted to the popular jury: One Piece best group, The Ostriches best mask.
- The pasta e fagioli offered to everyone by the Pro Loco at the Social Center.
Prices Castelpotano Carnival 2026
Practical information — Castelpotano Carnival
Getting there
Castelpoto is located about 7 km west of Benevento, on the first slopes of the Valle Vitulanese, at the foot of the Taburno massif. By car, it can be reached via the provincial roads that climb from Benevento towards Vitulano and Foglianise; from Naples, take the A16 to Benevento. By train, you arrive at Benevento Centrale station, connected to Naples and Caserta, and continue by extra-urban bus or taxi. The nearest airport is Naples-Capodichino, about seventy kilometers away.
Parking
The village is small, and on the afternoon of the parade, the center streets are closed to traffic: it is best to leave the car in the free spaces at the entrance to the village and reach Piazza Garibaldi on foot in a few minutes.
Costs
Participation is free: the parade, games, and entertainment are open access, and the pasta e fagioli is offered by the Pro Loco Castelpoto APS.
Tips
- Dress in layers: at just under 300 meters above sea level, between January and February, the afternoon cools down quickly.
- Comfortable shoes: the parade crosses the sloping streets of the village.
- Bring a costume, even a simple one: the popular jury rewards the most original masks, and participation is the rule.
- For updated dates and times, it is best to follow the Pro Loco Castelpoto channels and the Municipality's notices, usually published a few weeks in advance.
Where to stay
The village's accommodation offer is minimal: the most convenient base is Benevento, with hotels and bed and breakfasts, or the farmhouses in the Valle Vitulanese between Vitulano, Foglianise, and Torrecuso, the latter known for its Aglianico del Taburno wines.
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Where does it take place — Castelpotano Carnival
Piazza Garibaldi e Centro Sociale
Piazza Garibaldi, 82030 Castelpoto