Coppa Città di Montesano sulla Marcellana Slalom

A tricolour slalom in the heart of the Vallo di Diano

The Coppa Città di Montesano sulla Marcellana is a car slalom race that, once a year, turns the provincial road 103 into a timed track. It takes place in the municipality of Montesano sulla Marcellana, in the Province of Salerno, at the southern end of the Vallo di Diano, in that inland Campania where the Cilento landscape and the Lucanian Apennine ridge meet. The start is in the hamlet of Arenabianca, and the finish line is at the gates of the historic centre: 3,900 meters of ascent with an elevation gain of about 195 meters, one of the longest distances in the Italian slalom scene.

From the Central-South Trophy to the Italian Absolute Championship

Originally a key event for the CPB Interregional Challenge (Campania, Puglia, Basilicata) and the ACI Sport Central-South Trophy, the race made a leap in category in 2026: the 17th edition, held on June 7th, was the first to count towards the ACI Sport Italian Absolute Slalom Championship, as well as the 3rd Zone Cup and the 23rd CPB Interregional Challenge. For the small town in Salerno, this was a significant milestone: the tricolour flag of the premier national championship had never flown on these roads before.

How the race works

• Saturday is dedicated to sporting and technical checks for the cars and registered drivers.
• On Sunday morning, the S.P. 103 is closed to traffic, starting with the briefing, roll call, and the timed reconnaissance of the track.
• This is followed by three race heats, run one by one along the 3,900 meters marked by cones.
• The awards ceremony takes place in the afternoon in Piazza Filippo Gagliardi, in the centre of Montesano.

Cars, protagonists, and recent winners

Slalom is the most open discipline in Italian motorsport: at the start, you will find two-seater prototypes (Osella, Radical, Nova Proto), silhouettes, kart crosses, and small, heavily modified production cars side-by-side, from Fiat 126s and 600s with Suzuki engines to Peugeot 106s and Citroën Saxos. The great protagonist of recent years is the Lucanian Saverio Miglionico, who won the 2025 edition in a Radical SR4 with a time of 2'54.65 and repeated the feat in 2026 in an Osella PA21 in 2'43.05, ahead of Luigi Vinaccia and Salvatore Venanzio. The first tricolour edition set a seasonal participation record for the championship, with 71 starters.

A village festival beyond the sports report

As is typical for road races in Southern Italy, the slalom day is also a collective event for the community: the public gathers in designated areas along the route, the village bars and businesses operate at full capacity, and the awards ceremony in the square concludes the Sunday with the most popular part of the event. The 2026 edition was also followed by the cameras of ACI Sport TV, which provided live coverage.

Organizers

The event is managed by the Basilicata Motorsport association, a historic slalom organizer between Basilicata and Campania, with the patronage of the Municipality of Montesano sulla Marcellana and the Province of Salerno. The reference phone number for information and registration is +39 337 1878181.

When to go and what to see nearby

The race was historically held in August before moving to June with its entry into the Italian championship: it is therefore advisable to check the ACI Sport calendar every year. Visitors from outside the region can combine the trip with exploring the Vallo di Diano, including the Certosa di San Lorenzo in Padula, the Pertosa-Auletta caves, and the nearby UNESCO-listed Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park.