Cecatiello Festival
On the eve of Ferragosto, the hillside hamlet of San Marco ai Monti celebrates its handmade pasta
About Cecatiello Festival
The cecatiello, a symbol of the village
The cecatiello is a fresh Sannio pasta made strictly by hand: small, hollowed-out macaroni that, following ancient local customs, are left to dry on wooden boards before being cooked and tossed in a rich, fragrant ragù. In San Marco ai Monti, a hillside hamlet of the Municipality of Sant'Angelo a Cupolo, in the Province of Benevento and thus in the heart of inland Campania, this dish is more than just a recipe: it is a mark of local identity that the village celebrates every year on the eve of Ferragosto with the Cecatiello Festival.
One of the province's longest-running festivals
The event is organized by the Pro Loco San Marco ai Monti, an association founded in 1958, and is cited by local chronicles as one of the first and most enduring gastronomic initiatives in the Benevento area. In 2014, the fortieth edition was celebrated, and in 2025 the forty-ninth: on August 14, 2026, the festival reaches the milestone of its 50th edition, half a century of village history built year after year by the volunteers and families of the hamlet. The event is traditionally held under the patronage of the Municipality of Sant'Angelo a Cupolo, the UNPLI, and the Province of Benevento, and in recent editions, it has attracted around two thousand visitors from the Sannio region and neighboring provinces.
The August 13th preview: making pasta together
The festival doesn't truly begin on August 14th, but the day before. On August 13th, the village gathers for the preview: in the parish hall, expert housewives, elderly guardians of tradition, teenagers, and children work side-by-side to hand-prepare the quintals of cecatiello that will be served the following evening. It is the most authentic moment of the festival, a display of conviviality and domestic craftsmanship where generations pass down the technique: in 2025, chronicles tell us, a young man who arrived from New York for the occasion even joined the work table.
What to eat
The village becomes an open-air restaurant, with stalls managed by Pro Loco volunteers. The traditional menu includes:
- cecatielli with ragù, the dish that gives the festival its name;
- grilled pork sausage, cooked in plain view;
- Abruzzese arrosticini, added to the menu in more recent editions;
- french fries and montanare, the typical fried pizza topped with tomato and cheese common in Campania;
- homemade desserts from the rural tradition;
- Colli Beneventani wines, available by the glass.
Orchestra, ballroom, and group dancing
The musical entertainment is reminiscent of old-fashioned village feasts: the evening is entrusted to a live orchestra that accompanies ballroom dancing, Latin-American, and group dances in the hamlet's square. People eat, drink, and dance, and in past editions, the music has continued well into the night of Ferragosto, as August 14th gives way to the 15th.
San Marco ai Monti, a balcony over the Sannio
San Marco ai Monti is a small settlement located at an altitude of about 600 meters, about ten kilometers south of Benevento. It is one of the hillside hamlets of Sant'Angelo a Cupolo, a scattered municipality in the Sabato Valley: a landscape of olive groves, vineyards, and woods that offers cooler evenings in summer compared to the plains. The local Pro Loco, which is very active, also enlivens the village's summer calendar with the Hanged Caciocavallo Festival, scheduled for early August, so that within two weeks, the hamlet hosts two distinct gastronomic events.
Visitors coming from outside can combine the festival with a visit to Benevento, with the Arch of Trajan and the Longobard complex of Santa Sofia, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a tour of the wineries of the Sannio, one of the most interesting wine-growing areas in inland Campania.
Tips for your visit
The festival is concentrated into a single evening and attendance is significant: it is best to arrive early, when the stalls open, to avoid queues at the cash registers. The village is on a slope and the streets are narrow, so comfortable shoes are recommended, and parking should be in the designated areas at the entrance to the village. A light jacket is also useful in August: at six hundred meters above sea level, the air cools down after sunset. The final program and any changes are communicated by the Pro Loco San Marco ai Monti on their website and social media channels in the days leading up to the event.
Cecatiello Festival — edition 2026
The 2026 edition of the Cecatiello Festival is set for Friday, August 14, 2026, in San Marco ai Monti, a hamlet of the Municipality of Sant'Angelo a Cupolo, in the Province of Benevento. It is an edition with symbolic value: the 50th, marking half a century of life for one of the longest-running gastronomic festivals in inland Campania, always organized by the Pro Loco San Marco ai Monti.
The date, as per a decennial tradition, remains that of the eve of Ferragosto: a single evening that concentrates all the participation of the village and visitors from the Sannio region. The previous day, August 13th, the community gathers for the preview dedicated to the hand-processing of the cecatiello, the fresh pasta that is left to dry on wooden boards according to ancient local customs.
The established format includes food stalls set up in the village with cecatielli with ragù as the main dish, accompanied by grilled pork sausage, arrosticini, french fries, montanare, homemade desserts, and Colli Beneventani wines, while the square hosts a live orchestra with ballroom, Latin-American, and group dances.
Programme Cecatiello Festival 2026
The detailed program for the 50th edition has not yet been published: the Pro Loco San Marco ai Monti usually releases the poster with times, menu, and the name of the orchestra only in the days leading up to August 14th, on their website and social media channels.
What is currently known for the 2026 edition:
- Friday, August 14, 2026: the single day of the festival, with stalls opening in the early evening (in recent editions around 7:00 PM) and continuing until late at night;
- Thursday, August 13, 2026: preview with the collective hand-preparation of the cecatiello by the community, according to a well-established village custom;
- cuisine entrusted to Pro Loco volunteers, with cecatielli with ragù as the signature dish;
- live music with an orchestra and a dance evening in the hamlet's square;
- commemoration of the fifty years of the event, which organizers have announced as the half-century edition.
No list of guests or precise times has been made public yet: information will be updated as soon as the official poster is available.
Highlights Cecatiello Festival 2026
- 50th edition: half a century of history for one of the first gastronomic festivals in the Province of Benevento;
- the cecatiello, fresh pasta strictly hand-kneaded and dried on wooden boards according to ancient local customs;
- the August 13th preview, when housewives, the elderly, young people, and children prepare the pasta together in the parish hall;
- grilled sausage, arrosticini, montanare, and homemade desserts accompanying the main dish;
- Colli Beneventani wines served by the glass at the Pro Loco stalls;
- live orchestra, ballroom, Latin-American, and group dances until late at night, on the eve of Ferragosto;
- the hillside village at about 600 meters above sea level, with cooler evenings compared to the plains.
Prices Cecatiello Festival 2026
Practical information — Cecatiello Festival
How to get there
By car: from the A16 Naples-Canosa motorway, take the exit for Benevento and continue south towards Sant'Angelo a Cupolo; the hamlet of San Marco ai Monti is reached via the hillside road that climbs from the municipal capital. It is about 10 km from Benevento and about fifty from Naples. The final stretch of road is winding and uphill: drive carefully, especially on the return trip in the evening.
By train and plane
The reference station is Benevento Centrale, connected to Naples, Caserta, and Foggia; from there, you must continue by car or taxi, as public transport services to the hillside hamlets are limited in the evening hours. The nearest airport is Naples Capodichino, about 60 km away.
Hours and costs
Free admission to the event. The food stalls open in the early evening, around 7:00 PM, and continue until late at night; tickets are purchased at the cash register and you eat at the tables set up in the village. The price list for the dishes is displayed on-site and published by the Pro Loco in the days prior: it is wise to carry cash.
Where to stay
In San Marco ai Monti, accommodation options are minimal: you can find B&Bs and farm stays in the municipalities of the Sabato Valley and, with more choice, hotels in Benevento. Since it falls on August 14th, in the peak of the Ferragosto period, it is advisable to book weeks in advance.
Tips
Those who want to see the most authentic side of the festival can inquire about the August 13th preview, when the community prepares the cecatiello by hand in the parish hall. For updates, it is best to follow the Pro Loco San Marco ai Monti, which publishes the poster and details shortly before the event.
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Where does it take place — Cecatiello Festival
Frazione San Marco ai Monti