Feast of Saint John the Baptist

A patronal feast in the heart of Cilento

Although the village's name recalls Saint Lawrence, the patron saint of Castel San Lorenzo is Saint John the Baptist, whose feast day—the Nativity of the Forerunner—falls every year on June 24th. It is the most significant date in the civic and religious calendar of this small town in the province of Salerno, nestled between the Alburni hills and the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park.

The day sets the rhythm for the entire community: municipal offices close for the patronal holiday, families return to the village, and doors are opened to guests. The center of the celebration is the parish church of Saint John the Baptist, around which the solemn services and the procession through the village streets take place.

The votive cente, the heart of the tradition

The element that truly defines this festival is the cente: creations made with decorated candles, mounted on often imposing structures, which are carried in procession on the heads of the women. This is not merely a performance, but one of the most authentic expressions of Cilento's popular religiosity, a vow renewed from generation to generation.

Preparing a centa requires days of patient work. In Castel San Lorenzo, this task has been taken up by the Nova Pro Loco Castellese, which has worked to recover a tradition that risked being lost and which also brings the cente out for the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian at the end of September. In June 2026, the eve of the patronal feast was accompanied by a workshop dedicated to creating the cente, hosted at the Museum of Peasant Civilization in Piazza Umberto I: a way to pass on the techniques, materials, and meaning of this ritual to the younger generations.

The Prince's Mill and the village's memory

The initiatives surrounding the festival are part of the project to enhance the Mulino del Principe (Prince's Mill), the ancient water mill built in 1579 by the Carafa princes and restored in the early 2000s to become a cultural hub for the village. Today, much of the activity that tells the story of the village's material culture—milling, farm work, and devotional crafts—revolves around this site.

Castel San Lorenzo, the village of wine

Those who arrive for June 24th will find much more than just a procession. Castel San Lorenzo is known throughout Campania as a village of wine: it lends its name to a designation of origin, and its Wine Festival in the summer is one of the most popular oenological events in inland Cilento. The landscape is the classic one of the area: vineyards, olive groves, and stone houses overlooking the Calore valley.

Local cuisine naturally accompanies the festival, featuring homemade pasta, locally produced cheeses, extra virgin olive oil, and the red and white wines of the territory. During the days of the celebration, the village also comes alive with social events organized by local associations.

How to experience the festival

• Intimate atmosphere: This is a community festival, not a large tourist event. Visitors are welcomed, but the tone remains that of a village celebrating its own saint.
• The highlight: The departure of the procession with the cente, spectacular for the balance and solemnity with which they are carried.
• Summer in Castello: The patronal feast effectively opens the village's summer season, which continues with the municipal event calendar and the food festivals in July and August.
• Photography: The evening lights and the lit candles make the procession one of the most interesting subjects in inland Cilento, always with respect for the religious nature of the moment.

An intangible heritage to be preserved

The Feast of Saint John the Baptist in Castel San Lorenzo is a small window into how communities in the Campanian hinterland hold together faith, craftsmanship, and identity. The recovery of the cente, also supported by the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, shows how a popular tradition can become a tool for cohesion and attractiveness for a village of just a few hundred inhabitants.