Emigrant Festival (Fortore Emigrants Festival)

A festival born for those who left

The Emigrant Festival, also known as the Fortore Emigrants Festival, is the most iconic summer event in Foiano di Val Fortore, a village of just over a thousand inhabitants at an altitude of 520 meters, at the northeastern tip of the province of Benevento, in Campania. The meaning is all in the name: August is the month when the village repopulates because families who left the Fortore area in the 20th century in search of work return from abroad or from the cities of the North. The festival is designed for them.

This is not a recent development: the event was already in its 40th edition in 2022, celebrated with the slogan "40: The Return," and reached its 43rd edition in 2025.

Foiano di Val Fortore, a village of emigration

Foiano overlooks the upper valley of the Fortore river, in an area of ridges, woods, and pastures that marks the border between Campania, Molise, and Puglia. It is a territory marked by severe depopulation, and for this reason, emigration here is not an abstract theme but the history of almost every family.

In 2025, the village paid tribute to its most famous emigrant by naming the Municipal Theater after James Vincent Monaco, born in Foiano on January 13, 1884, and emigrated to the United States, where he became a pianist and composer in Hollywood.

A festival for the entire Fortore region

The most original feature of the festival is its widespread nature: the Municipality of Foiano di Val Fortore is the lead partner, but the event involves other towns in the valley, which take turns hosting events and evenings. In 2022, the network included Baselice, Molinara, Montefalcone di Val Fortore, and Reino; in 2025, there were six municipalities, with the addition of San Marco dei Cavoti and San Bartolomeo in Galdo, united in a joint application for regional tourism funds.

Thus, the festival becomes an itinerary: in 2023, the start was entrusted to Montefalcone di Val Fortore with the «farnat cu la sausicchie» Festival, one of the most typical peasant dishes of the area.

Music, folk dances, and folklore

The evening program revolves around live music, with a special focus on popular repertoire and Italian songs—the ones emigrants took with them overseas. Recent editions have featured:

• concerts of Italian songs and tributes to the great performers of pop music;
• folk dances and folklore, with groups like the Puglia Folk Project;
• ethnic rhythms;
• performances by local bands and artists from the Sannio region.

Piazza San Giovanni and the village squares are the natural stages for the festival, with shows starting late in the evening, in accordance with the custom of Southern summer festivals.

The gastronomy of the Fortore

Alongside the music, there is the food: the stalls and associated festivals offer dishes from the Sannio hinterland, from handmade pasta to mountain cured meats and cheeses. The «farnat cu la sausicchie» — corn polenta with sausage — is the perfect example of this subsistence cuisine that has become a hallmark of local identity.

The 2025 edition: «Intersecting Routes»

The 43rd edition, from August 10 to 15, 2025, was titled «Intersecting Routes» and was structured around seven thematic strands: history, nature, spirituality, gastronomy, wellness, entertainment, and social innovation in tourism. The artistic direction was entrusted, through a public selection process, to the musician and singing teacher Nicola Martucci, who had already curated several Foiano editions between 2017 and 2023.

Towards the 44th edition

For 2026, the Municipality of Foiano di Val Fortore began the organizational process as early as June, publishing the public notice for the artistic direction of the 44th edition: a one-year freelance contract, with applications due by June 15, 2026. At the time of writing, the official dates for August 2026 and the program have not yet been published: it is advisable to follow the Municipality's channels for updates.

In the same summer, the Municipality, together with the ArtiFrementi cultural association and the Foiano Ecomuseum, established the International «James V. Monaco» Award, a music competition dedicated to the legacy of ragtime, Tin Pan Alley, and swing, the first edition of which is held on August 9 and 10, 2026: an initiative distinct from the festival, but born from the same common thread of the memory of Foiano's emigration.