Christmas in Andretta

A widespread Christmas in an Alta Irpinia village

Christmas in Andretta is not just a single event, but a widespread program that accompanies the village throughout the holiday season, from early December until Epiphany. The Municipality of Andretta, in the Province of Avellino (Campania), builds the program every year together with local associations, the church community, and the Youth Forum: the result is a festival that alternates spirituality, culture, entertainment, and solidarity, designed to involve citizens of all ages.

A program built with local associations

The formula is typical of Alta Irpinia villages: no large stages, but many events distributed between the church, the Municipal Auditorium, the squares, and the historic center. The administration provides the spaces, while the associations provide the ideas and volunteer work. The program includes Lectio Divina sessions during Advent, workshops and games for children organized by local associations, dance performances, amateur theater, and dialect comedy.

The arrival of the Pino Irpino

One of the most anticipated opening moments is the welcome of the Pino Irpino in Piazza dei Caduti. Born in 2011, the Pino Irpino is a solidarity caravan that travels through all 118 municipalities of the Province of Avellino in a few days, bringing music and messages of peace, with a precise schedule for each village. In Andretta, the stop has been repeated in recent editions, a sign that the holidays have begun.

Culture: the Prize dedicated to Francesco De Sanctis

The Christmas period also hosts the "L'Inedito" Prize dedicated to Francesco De Sanctis, the great literary critic born in Morra De Sanctis, just a few kilometers from Andretta. The competition, which has reached its seventeenth edition in recent years, awards unpublished works and is promoted by the municipal administration together with a local publishing house. The cultural program is further enriched by book presentations, often hosted in the auditorium.

From Boxing Day to Epiphany

The second part of the program is the most convivial. December 26th is traditionally the day for tombolata (bingo), the game that brings families and neighbors together around the same table; in the following days, there are comedy shows and theater evenings, entrusted to local amateur companies — including the I Cavillosi company, created right in Andretta to build bonds through the stage. The Banda Città di Andretta concert is the musical highlight of the festival: the band is one of the most deep-rooted cultural institutions in the village, and its Christmas concert attracts a large audience every year.

The New Year's Eve Peace March

The event that best characterizes Christmas in Andretta is the Peace March on December 31st, held on the occasion of the World Day of Peace. The procession starts in the afternoon from the ancient historic center of Codacchio and reaches the Mattinella district, symbolically uniting the two souls of the municipal territory. Promoted by the municipal administration together with the church community, volunteer associations, and the citizenry, the march is open to municipalities, institutions, and people of good will from all over Irpinia: a way to end the year walking together instead of sitting in front of a television.

Waiting for the Befana

The program concludes on January 5th with "Waiting for the Befana", animated by the Andretta Youth Forum: music, entertainment, and sweets for children, with which the village says goodbye to the holidays before the return to winter normality.

Andretta, the village overlooking the Ofanto Valley

Andretta is located at an altitude of about 840 meters, on a ridge overlooking the Ofanto valley, and has just under two thousand inhabitants. Mentioned in documents as early as the Norman era, the village preserves the layout of the old town and a strong identity linked to emigration: for many families, Christmas is the only time of the year when the historic center truly becomes populated again. This is also why the Christmas festival has a value that goes beyond entertainment: it is the calendar that holds the scattered community together.

When it takes place

The events are concentrated between the beginning of December and January 6th, with almost daily appointments between Christmas and Epiphany. The complete program is usually released in the first half of December through the channels of the Municipality of Andretta and the Sistema Irpinia portal of the Province of Avellino.