Celebrations in Honor of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim

A popular festival in the heart of Irpinia

At the end of July, Celzi, the most populous hamlet of the Municipality of Forino, in the Province of Avellino (Campania), transforms for the Celebrations in honor of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim. For a week, village life shifts along Via Due Principati, the ancient road that once connected the Principato Ultra to the Principato Citra: illuminations, stalls, a brass band roaming the streets, a stage for evening concerts, and the solemn procession on the day of the feast. It is one of those Irpinian patronal festivals where devotion and popular fun coexist seamlessly, and where the entire community gathers, including emigrant families who return specifically for the event.

The rite of the «Ciuccio di fuoco»

The moment that sets this festival apart from all others is the rite of the «Ciuccio di fuoco», traditionally celebrated at the stroke of midnight between July 26th and 27th. An iron donkey silhouette, loaded with pinwheels and fireworks, is ignited and dragged at a run through the crowds who cheer and urge on the carriers: a few minutes of sparks, smoke, and adrenaline that involve both those pulling and those watching.

Its origins are lost in the early 20th century and remain shrouded in mystery. Local scholars Gennaro Vespucci and Paolo D'Amato link the rite to the ancient trade of pack animals between the Avellino and Salerno areas—Celzi was a rest stop along Via Due Principati—and to a legend from nearby Acigliano, which tells of merchants whose donkey died during transport and the mocking silhouette built by the inhabitants. Others see it as a fertility rite linked to the farming world, a purification ceremony, or the temporary reversal of social values typical of popular festivals: the symbolic content has never been fully clarified, which is perhaps what keeps it alive.

The religious aspect

The liturgical calendar is the true backbone of the festival and focuses on July 26th, the day the Church remembers the parents of the Virgin Mary:

• the evening novena that prepares the community for the anniversary in the preceding days;
• the long succession of Holy Masses on July 26th, from the early morning hours until the evening celebration, with the solemn mass presided over by the Archbishop of Avellino, Msgr. Arturo Aiello;
• the solemn procession at 8:30 PM, with the statue of Saint Anne—and, in some editions, the image of the Madonna del Carmine—carried on shoulders through every corner of the hamlet, accompanied by the band;
• the grand fireworks display that, late in the evening, closes the day on Via Due Principati.

Concerts, games, and evenings in the square

Alongside the religious rites, the Saint Anne Celzi Festival Committee builds a secular program every year that brings together multiple generations. The week usually opens with the Cievz Summer Games, local tournaments of human table football, briscola, foot darts, and quiz games, and continues with Cervellone sotto le stelle, the traveling quiz show that involves the public in an evening of competition and laughter.

The highlight, however, remains the grand evening concert, which over the years has brought well-known names from the Campanian and national music and entertainment scene to Celzi: Enzo Avitabile and the Bottari in 2026, Gianni Fiorellino in 2025, Eugenio Bennato and, in the past, Biagio Izzo and the Ricchi e Poveri. The stage is set up outdoors on Via Due Principati and the shows are free to enter, as per the tradition of the patronal feast.

Why it is worth the trip

Forino is in a very convenient location, a few kilometers from Avellino and less than an hour from Naples, at the entrance to the valley that descends towards the Agro Nocerino-Sarnese. Those arriving in Celzi during these days will find an authentic festival, not at all built for tourists: stalls selling nougat, peanuts, and fried polenta, the smell of gunpowder after the fireworks, the alleys lit by illuminations, and the community pouring into the streets until late at night. The advice is to arrive early on the evening of July 26th, take your place along the procession route, and stay until midnight for the «Ciuccio di fuoco»: it is an experience that, in Campania, is seen in very few other towns.