Color War

The craziest battle of the Salerno summer

The Color War is the most anticipated and lighthearted event of 'A Chiena, the historic water festival of the Municipality of Campagna, in the province of Salerno. The battle is fought without real weapons: the deadliest ones are simple wet sponges, dipped in large tubs full of strictly non-toxic colors and then thrown at anyone within range. Within minutes, alleys, doorways, t-shirts, and faces become a single palette dripping with water, while the ancient village fills with laughter.

'A Chiena and the waters of the Tenza River

The Color War cannot be understood without 'A Chiena, the event that hosts it. Every summer, part of the waters of the Tenza River, which originates from Monte Polveracchio, is diverted through an ancient artificial canal and released into the historic center: the current flows through the main street, alleys, and squares before being returned to its natural bed, without waste. The first documented records of the practice date back to 1889, when the canal was restored and the main street repaved to facilitate drainage, but the custom has roots in previous centuries as a system for cleaning streets used by pack animals.

Abandoned in the early seventies with the decline of rural civilization, the tradition was revived in 1982 by local artists and intellectuals as a gesture of rebirth after the earthquake, transforming into a spectacle and one of the strongest identity markers of inland Campania.

Color against war

The idea of the Color War bears the signature of Laboratorio Zeza, the group that oversees its artistic direction. The game has an explicit message: to exorcise the word «war» through colors, symbols of peace, and to reflect lightly on how useless and senseless every conflict is. It is a battle where no one counts who wins, because in the end, everyone is colored the same way.

How it works

• At the start signal, participants gather around the tubs full of colored water placed along the route.
• Fighting is done exclusively with sponges: no buckets, no powders thrown in the eyes, no violent gestures.
• The colors used are non-toxic and washable, also designed for the presence of children.
• The activity ends in the mid-morning, in time for the noon walk through the flooded streets.
• In the afternoon, the historic center hosts the secchiata (bucket fight), the challenge with buckets that closes the day.

A day in the water

Those who come to Campagna for the Color War find a program that occupies the entire Sunday: color in the morning, walking in the water at noon, and the bucket fight in the early afternoon. It is the best way to understand why 'A Chiena attracts thousands of visitors every year from the province of Salerno, from Naples, and from the rest of the region, often with organized shuttles and buses.

Campagna, a water village in the heart of Campania

Nestled in a narrow valley at the foot of the Picentini Mountains, Campagna is a stone village dominated by its churches and ancient convents, where water has always been a structural element of the urban landscape. Participating in the Color War also means crossing this historic fabric from an unusual perspective, with feet soaking and facades reflecting in the current. An informal and popular experience, very far from coastal mass tourism, which restores the authentic face of the Salerno hinterland.