Civitella August 15th Festival

The Civitella August 15th Festival

The Civitella August 15th Festival is the celebration dedicated to Ferragosto in Civitella Messer Raimondo, a village of a few hundred inhabitants perched at an altitude of 613 meters on a hill at the foot of the Maiella, in the province of Chieti, in the heart of Abruzzo. The village, surrounded by the Verde and Aventino rivers and overlooking Lake Sant'Angelo, belongs to the Majella National Park area and makes Ferragosto one of the most attended days of its summer season.

The Parco Verde Civitas

The festival is held at the Parco Verde Civitas, the new municipal green space inaugurated in 2025, which immediately became the gathering place for the local community during the summer. On Ferragosto, the park comes alive with tables reserved by residents and families who spend their lunch together outdoors, among trees and meadows, far from the heat of urban centers.

A day of conviviality

The heart of the Civitella August 15th Festival is conviviality: you book your table at the town hall in the days leading up to the event and head to the Parco Verde Civitas to share lunch and the afternoon with relatives, friends, and neighbors. The day is accompanied by music, which provides the soundtrack to a genuine, no-frills Ferragosto, faithful to the spirit of Abruzzo village festivals.

Local flavors

Ferragosto is also an opportunity to rediscover the flavors of Civitella Messer Raimondo. The local gastronomic tradition preserves specialties such as campanella, a spiced sausage typical of the village, and the civitellese almond cake, a sweet treat from peasant memory, along with wines and oils obtained from native varieties grown on the hills of the Maiella.

A village to discover

Those attending the festival can take the opportunity to visit the town's historic center, with the castle of the Baglioni counts and Palazzo Gattone, and to explore the nature trails of the Majella National Park. The Civitella August 15th Festival, despite its simplicity, tells the story of the identity of a small Abruzzo village that gathers united around its community on the day of Ferragosto.