Ciao Estate — Boscotrecase Bids Farewell to Summer

A festival to bid farewell to summer at the foot of Mount Vesuvius

«Ciao Estate» is the event with which Boscotrecase, a town in the province of Naples nestled on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, says goodbye to the summer season. For three days, the town's main square becomes an open-air stage, with a program that weaves together family entertainment, street food, and live music. It is the kind of event that marks the change of season in Campania: not a festival dedicated to a single product, but a community celebration that reclaims public space for residents and visitors from neighboring Vesuvius towns.

The format: puppets, traditional games, and street food

The afternoon is dedicated to children. In the most recent edition, the Puppet Theater of master Adriano Ferraiolo & sons opened the days in the late afternoon, followed by traditional games organized by the «Il bello delle cose semplici» association: a deliberate choice that recovers the popular ludic repertoire—the games played in streets and squares before the age of screens—and puts it back at the heart of the festival.

From the evening onwards, the focus shifts to flavors with «Boscotrecase StritInFud», a Vesuvius-style street food trail curated by food blogger Peppefoodie. The wordplay in the name (a Neapolitan-style phonetic transcription of street food) perfectly captures the spirit of the initiative: local street cuisine, interpreted with irony and without formalities.

Music in the square

The evenings conclude with concerts, which are the main draw of the festival. The lineup has alternated between traditional Campanian folk—with I Bottari della Cantica Popolare, a group that brings to the stage the rhythmic sounds of barrels, scythes, and vats, a hallmark of the Vesuvius and Caserta heritage—and pop music and entertainment, featuring names like Tonino Migliore and, as a grand finale, a concert by Paolo Belli.

• Puppet theater in the late afternoon
• Traditional games and children's entertainment
• «Boscotrecase StritInFud» Vesuvius-style street food trail
• Evening concerts in the square, ranging from folk to pop music

Boscotrecase, the town and its territory

Boscotrecase has just over ten thousand inhabitants and is part of the Vesuvius National Park in Campania. The heart of the historic center is Piazza Sant'Anna, dominated by the parish church dedicated to the town's patron saint. It is a land shaped by the volcano—the 1906 eruption hit it hard—and by the fertility of the volcanic soil, which has given the Vesuvius area some of its most recognizable products, from the piennolo cherry tomato to the Vesuvius apricot and the Lacryma Christi wines. This dual identity, volcanic and agricultural, is reflected in the festival's food stalls.

Why it's worth visiting

«Ciao Estate» is not a festival built for mass tourism: it is a local village feast, with all the warmth and informality that entails. Visitors will find an easy opportunity to experience Vesuvius from the perspective of its inhabitants, amidst dialect, folk music, and street food, just a few kilometers from Pompeii, Torre Annunziata, and the coast. The afternoon-for-children and evening-for-adults formula makes it suitable for the whole family.

When it takes place

The festival traditionally takes place in September, on the weekend that symbolically closes the summer season. The 2025 edition was held from September 19th to 21st. For 2026, the Municipality of Boscotrecase has not yet released dates and the program: it is advisable to check official channels and local Vesuvius press in the weeks leading up to the event.