Chiauci Carnival

The Representation of the Months of the Year

The Chiauci Carnival, in the village of Alto Molise in the province of Isernia, preserves a carnival tradition of rare originality: the representation of the months of the year. Each month is personified by a different person, dressed to interpret its character, who sings the verse of the head of the family's birth month at each house. It is a traveling ritual that intertwines popular theater, music, and community bonds, from door to door along the village streets.

The Closing Evening and the Flavors of Chiauci

The festival concludes with an evening dedicated to the village's typical dishes: 'squattone' (pasta cooked in its water and flavored with wine), 'panonda' (bread dipped in lard used to brown sausage), and traditional sweets like 'scurpelle' and 'tercine'. A gastronomic heritage that tells the story of the poor and ingenious cuisine of the Molise mountains.

Chiauci, a village in the MAB Reserve

Chiauci is one of the seven municipalities that make up the UNESCO MAB Reserve Collemeluccio-Montedimezzo Alto Molise, a land of forests and ancient traditions of sheep farming and transhumance, along the Lucera-Castel di Sangro ancient drove road. The Carnival of the Months is one of the most authentic expressions of the cultural identity of this corner of the Isernia Apennines.