Culurgiones Festival

A piece of Sardinia in the heart of Irpinia

Some food festivals celebrate a local product, while others celebrate a unique encounter. The Culurgiones Festival belongs to the latter: it is held in Ciardelli Inferiore, a hamlet of just fifty inhabitants in the municipality of Pietrastornina, in the province of Avellino. The dish that gives the festival its name is not Irpinian, but Sardinian—a geographical twist that is truly one of a kind in Campania.

Local history tells the story of Giuseppina Martini, originally from Pula in southern Sardinia, who moved to this corner of northern Irpinia, halfway between Avellino and Benevento, for love about forty years ago. She brought her home recipes with her, especially the culurgiones. The women of Ciardelli learned them, adapted them with local pantry staples, and, edition after edition, turned them into a collective heritage of the village. From that encounter, a popular event was born, which has been followed by local media for over twenty years.

What are culurgiones?

The culurgione is a fresh stuffed pasta typical of Sardinia, particularly the Ogliastra region. It resembles a raviolo but is distinguished by its closure: the edge is hand-sealed with a dense, regular fold that creates a wheat ear pattern on the surface, known as the 'spighitta'. It is a technical skill that cannot be improvised and is passed down by watching the hands of those who have been doing it forever.

The filling of the version served in Ciardelli blends two traditions: potatoes, mint, garlic-infused oil, pecorino, and parmesan. The result is a savory, fragrant raviolo that the Campanian palate has embraced with ease.

Four thousand hand-folded ravioli

The number is what strikes first-time visitors the most: over four thousand culurgiones prepared one by one, by hand, in the weeks leading up to the festival. They are made primarily by the women of the hamlet, who gather in the days before to knead, fill, and seal. In a village of fifty people, this means virtually the entire community is involved.

• Fresh pasta rolled and hand-sealed using the 'spighitta' technique
• Filling of potatoes, mint, garlic, pecorino, and parmesan
• Stalls with other typical local products and Irpinian cuisine
• Open-air evening in the hamlet square

The festival and Saint Peter the Apostle

The festival is not an isolated event: it is part of the festivities in honor of Saint Peter the Apostle, the patron saint of the hamlet, which bring Ciardelli Inferiore to life at the end of June. The religious side is managed by the parish, while the civil side features musical performances and fireworks. Food stalls open in the evening, around 8:00 PM, and the square fills with live music and dancing until late: the atmosphere is that of a genuine Apennine village feast, without spectacular staging or tourist filters.

A charitable festival

Organization is handled by the Ciardelli Street Association, created specifically to foster community sharing and bring people to a village that might otherwise face depopulation. Proceeds from the event are donated to charitable causes, supporting the parish and community activities—a detail that perfectly explains the spirit behind the festival each year.

Pietrastornina, between Avellino and Benevento

Pietrastornina is a small town in Irpinia, on the northern slopes of the Partenio massif, situated between the provincial capitals of Avellino and Benevento. Ciardelli Inferiore is one of its most secluded hamlets, reached by a road winding through the woods. For those visiting inland Irpinia, the festival is an opportunity to discover a village that would rarely appear on a standard tourist itinerary, and to taste a dish that, by now, is more Irpinian than Sardinian.