Fashion Under the Stars

A runway under the Alto Casertano sky

In Piana di Monte Verna, a small town in the province of Caserta overlooking the Volturno valley, the end of summer has a fixed appointment: «Fashion Under the Stars». The setting is always the same, the Villetta Comunale, a public garden that for one night turns into an open-air theater complete with a runway, lights, and a packed audience. It is one of the most anticipated evenings of the town's summer calendar, drawing crowds from the nearby Medio Volturno municipalities as well.

The event reached its fifteenth edition in 2025: a milestone that speaks volumes about the tenacity with which a community of just a few thousand inhabitants has built, year after year, an event recognizable well beyond the municipal borders.

More than a fashion show: a story in tableaux

The formula is what distinguishes «Fashion Under the Stars» from many local fashion events. Each edition revolves around a narrative theme, and the evening is structured like a multi-act show: runway appearances alternate with monologues, artistic performances, live music, and dance. The clothes tell a story, and the audience follows a thread that weaves together costume, memory, and spectacle.

• Fashion — garments and creations prepared by local ateliers and businesses;
• Theater — monologues and recited pieces that introduce the various tableaux;
• Folk Music — traditional Campanian folk songs and percussion;
• Dance — choreography by local schools and groups.

The 2025 theme: Partenope

The 2025 edition, held on August 31st, was dedicated to «Partenope: muse of myth, fashion, and melody» and explored Naples as a beautiful and cursed city, blending legend, tradition, folklore, and contemporary culture. The stage featured actor Nando Paone, the monologue Terra mja by Massimiliano Gallo, a spontaneous art performance by artist Gennaro Talpa, songs by Stany Ruggiero, and percussion by the Bottari, with choreography by Benny and Jessica. Actress Cristina Donadio also took part in the evening.

Over the years, the event has hosted national-level godmothers and guests: in 2023, for the thirteenth edition on August 26th, the godmother was Vladimir Luxuria.

Who walks the runway: the town on stage

The most distinctive feature remains the cast: not professional models, but children, teenagers, and young people from Piana di Monte Verna and neighboring towns. This is what makes the evening so engaging — the audience is filled with families, grandparents, and friends, and the applause is for the entire town. The artistic direction is entrusted to municipal councilor Ramona Anna Giglio, while the hosting of recent editions has been handled by Gaetano Gaudieri.

Inside «Vivi la Piazza», the town's summer

«Fashion Under the Stars» is part of the «Vivi la Piazza» (Live the Square) program, the summer schedule with which the municipal administration enlivens the town center, transforming it into an open-air living room. The 2026 edition of the festival runs from June 13th to September 19th and celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Piana di Monte Verna, featuring book presentations, open-air cinema for children, dance recitals, the White Night, the White Dinner, «Window on the Stars» astronomical observation evenings, Porchetta Day, the Pizzonta Festival, the «Monteverna Poetry» competition, and, of course, the fashion events.

The territory: Piana di Monte Verna and the Volturno

Piana di Monte Verna is located in Campania, about twenty kilometers north of Caserta, in a hilly area that slopes down toward the Volturno river. It is an area of small villages, olive groves, and vineyards, largely untouched by mass tourism but rich in popular traditions: attending an evening like this is the most direct way to connect with the real life of a town in the Caserta hinterland, far from the coastal routes.

Why it's worth an evening

Visitors from outside will find an event generous in content and genuinely communal. The pace is the slow one of August evenings: you arrive early to find a seat, you stay to chat at the end of the show, often with a taste of local specialties at the bars in the square. An excellent opportunity to discover the Alto Casertano in a festive and absolutely authentic guise.