Ciccimmaretati Poor Dishes Festival

A rural festival in the heart of Cilento

Every year, just after mid-August, the small village of Stio, in the province of Salerno, Campania, becomes one of the most beloved gathering spots of the Cilento summer. The Ciccimmaretati Poor Dishes Festival was founded in 1992 by the «Il Punto» Cultural Association and has grown steadily ever since, while remaining true to its original vision: telling the story of Cilento through the cuisine of everyday life, made of legumes, cereals, vegetables, and little else.

The municipality of Stio sits at an altitude of about 650 meters, within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is this location that gives the event its unique atmosphere: dining outdoors in a centuries-old chestnut grove equipped with numbered, covered wooden tables, enjoying the fresh mountain air of Cilento even on the hottest August nights.

What are ciccimmaretati?

Ciccimmaretati (literally "married chickpeas," meaning legumes "married" to one another) are a rustic soup that combines in a single pot whatever the rural pantry had left after the harvest: chickpeas, beans, grass peas, lentils, fava beans along with wheat, corn, and spelt, sometimes enriched with chestnuts. The seasoning is essential—garlic, extra virgin olive oil, chili pepper, and aromatic herbs—because the flavor comes from the long cooking process and the blending of ingredients.

The dish was tied to the harvest season and the need to consume the previous year's reserves before the new harvest: a domestic economy gesture that today is reinterpreted as a symbol of abundance, solidarity among rural families, and, not least, a perfect example of the Mediterranean diet, of which Cilento is the recognized homeland.

Seven evenings of festivities

The event spans seven consecutive evenings, with food stalls opening in the evening and service continuing until late. The organization is one of the festival's hallmarks: about a hundred volunteers, table reservations, orderly service, and a rhythm that allows guests to enjoy their meals at a leisurely pace even on the busiest nights, when the chestnut grove welcomes several thousand people.

The traditional menu

Alongside the signature dish, the stalls offer a wide range of Cilento specialties, mostly vegetarian:

• Ciccimmaretati served with homemade bread and local wine
• Foglie e patane, wild field greens boiled with potatoes, garlic, oil, and chili
• Cavatielli and other handmade pasta
• Stuffed eggplant and traditional vegetables
• Baked wheat and other cereal-based preparations
• Cheeses, cured meats, and artisanal desserts from Cilento

Folk music, crafts, and the village

The culinary experience is accompanied every night by live folk music: tammurriate, tarantelle, and folk groups performing the repertoire of Cilento and inland Campania. Throughout the village and along the festival route, there are also local craft markets, demonstrations of ancient trades, and walking routes to discover the cobblestone streets and stone houses of Stio.

Stio and inland Cilento

Visiting the festival is also an opportunity to discover the "inner" Cilento, that of the hillside villages far from the crowded coast. From Stio, you can easily reach Magliano Vetere, Laurino, Gioi, and other towns in the Park, in a landscape of chestnut forests, hiking trails, and small-scale agricultural production. Many visitors combine the festival evening with a day at the beach or a walk in the surroundings, taking advantage of the milder climate at this altitude.

Why it is worth visiting

Among the summer festivals in Campania, the "Ciccimmaretati" in Stio stands out for its historical continuity, thematic coherence, and organizational care. This is not a manufactured event: it is the community of Stio itself that, for over thirty years, has been showcasing its food heritage with popular prices and free admission.