Cautano Carnival

A village Carnival in the heart of the Vitulanese Valley

The Cautano Carnival is one of the most anticipated winter events in the Municipality of Cautano, a small town in the Province of Benevento overlooking the Vitulanese Valley, on the slopes of the Taburno-Camposauro massif in Campania. Here, the Carnival is not a show built for tourists: it is a festival that the village organizes itself, with the Pro Loco, the parish, the Youth Forum, and dozens of volunteers working in the weeks leading up to Shrove Tuesday.

The masked parade from Cautano to Cacciano

The highlight is the masked parade on Sunday afternoon. The procession gathers in Piazza Vittorio Veneto in the main town and sets off around 3:00 PM, traveling through the main streets to Piazza Principessa di Piemonte in the hamlet of Cacciano. Along the way, masked groups, allegorical floats built by local youth, and the Vespisti di Tocco Caudio caravan, which has accompanied the procession with its vintage Vespas in recent years, take center stage.

The party doesn't end upon arrival in the square: games, inflatables for children, surprises, and small performances fill the afternoon. It is a Carnival that truly unites generations, with grandparents sitting on the steps of the square and children in costume running between the floats.

The "Death of Carnival" and the Shrove Tuesday bonfire

The cycle closes on Shrove Tuesday with the traditional "Death of Carnival": a second, evening procession starts from Piazza Vittorio Veneto, travels through the town center, and accompanies the Carnival effigy to the site of the pyre, where the bonfire is lit. It is an ancient ritual widespread throughout the Sannio region: burning the puppet means letting go of the old year, negativity, and excesses before the start of Lent. A moment of conviviality open to the entire community then takes place around the fire.

A festival with a heart

In recent years, the Cautano Carnival has taken on a charitable dimension: proceeds from the day of games and inflatables have been donated to community initiatives, such as the "A Heart for Cautano" fundraiser for the purchase of defibrillators to be installed in the municipal area. A detail that speaks volumes about the spirit with which the festival is organized.

Organizers

• Pro Loco Cepino-Prata APS, affiliated with UNPLI Benevento
• Cautano Youth Forum
• Don Lorenzo Milani Oratory and the parish of Sant'Andrea Apostolo and Santa Maria delle Grazie
• The Vespisti di Tocco Caudio and local volunteers

The Carnival of the Sannio Pro Loco

Cautano is part of the extensive UNPLI Benevento Pro Loco Carnival calendar, which connects about twenty-five towns in the province every year—from the Fortore to the Titerno, from the Caudina Valley to the Tammaro—with parades, popular rituals, music, and traditional masks spread over two weeks, usually between early and late February. For those visiting the Sannio, it is an opportunity to see the Carnival in its most authentic form, that of the villages, far removed from the large spectacular machines of the cities.

Why attend

• A village-scale parade, free and perfect for families with children
• The ritual of the "Death of Carnival" bonfire, one of the most evocative in the Vitulanese Valley
• The chance to discover Cautano, the hamlet of Cacciano, and the Taburno-Camposauro Regional Park out of season
• Traditional Campanian Carnival sweets and the conviviality of the Sannio villages