Feast of Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Sebastian ("I Focaroni")

The fire festival of Quindici

In the heart of the Vallo di Lauro, on the western edge of Irpinia, the town of Quindici (Avellino province, Campania) dedicates the second half of January to its two most beloved saints: Saint Anthony Abbot, protector of animals and master of fire, and Saint Sebastian the Martyr. The solemn festivities take place between January 17th and 20th, culminating in the lighting of the Focara, the great ritual bonfire known locally as the focarone, which gives the entire event its popular name: I Focaroni.

The Focara: a bonfire that is also a work of art

The pyre is no simple stack of wood. In Quindici, it is designed and built in the days leading up to the event by volunteers from the 'Comitato Festa La Focara', who have recreated true wooden monuments over the years: in the 2024 edition, for instance, the structure was inspired by the Maschio Angioino in Naples. That year, strong winds damaged the construction just days before the lighting, but the committee led by Pietro Rubinaccio rebuilt it, postponing the blaze to January 21st—an episode still recounted in town as a testament to collective tenacity. When the Focara is lit, the flames illuminate the night accompanied by fireworks, and the community gathers around the fire until late in the evening.

Rituals, devotion, and processions

The religious program is marked by ancient and deeply felt traditions. A novena precedes the festival in the days leading up to January 17th; at dawn, the Diana firecracker rings out, waking the town, followed by the blessing of the animals, the heart of the cult of Saint Anthony Abbot throughout Southern Italy. At the Church of Saint Anthony, blessed morzetti are distributed—small traditional loaves that the faithful keep at home as a sign of protection. In the afternoon, the statue of the saint is carried in procession through the streets and districts of the town, including Via Forno, Piediquindici, and Via Rama, before reaching the parish church for Holy Mass.

The secular program: schiattiglia, music, and raffles

Alongside the liturgical events, there is an equally anticipated secular program. The schiattiglia, a traditional fireworks display, is set off in Piazza Municipio; there are also musical performances in front of the patronal church, inflatables for children, and the traditional raffles that close the festival, featuring very local prizes: a Nero Casertano piglet, statues of the two saints crafted by a master artisan from San Gregorio Armeno, and paintings depicting Saint Anthony and Saint Sebastian.

Flavors of the festival

The festival is also a gastronomic occasion. In addition to the morzetti, authentic guardians of the Quindici food heritage, the festivities have been accompanied over the years by a porchetta stand and caciocavallo impiccato—cheese hung over the embers to melt slowly onto bread: a classic of Campanian conviviality around the fire.

• Dawn Diana firecracker and blessing of the animals
• Lighting of the Focara, the great artistic bonfire
• Distribution of blessed morzetti
• Procession of the statues of Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Sebastian
• Schiattiglia and fireworks in Piazza Municipio
• Traditional raffles and Irpinian gastronomic specialties

January, the month of bonfires in Irpinia

Quindici is not an isolated case: in dozens of towns in the province of Avellino, January is the time for bonfires. The large pyres that burn on the night of January 17th symbolize the abandonment of the old year and the hope for a new beginning; according to the rural interpretation passed down through generations, the fire serves to warm the earth and hasten the return of spring. The Focara of Quindici is now one of the most recognizable events in this Irpinian calendar of fire, capable of attracting visitors from the Nola and Vesuvius areas, just a few kilometers away.

Why visit

Those who arrive in Quindici during these days will find a festival not built for tourism, but for the community: crowded squares, bells, fire, the smell of wood and embers, and entire families waiting for the lighting. It is the ideal opportunity to discover an off-the-beaten-path corner of inland Campania and to understand how deeply popular devotion and local identity remain intertwined in Irpinia.