Felitto Carnival

A village Carnival in the heart of Cilento

The Felitto Carnival is the first major event of the year in Felitto, a small town of just over a thousand inhabitants perched in the Calore Valley, in the province of Salerno, in the heart of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park. This is not a large-scale event or a television spectacle: it is a community celebration, built from the ground up, where the entire village—children, teenagers, families, and associations—comes together for a few days of collective joy.

Masks, floats, and local games

The formula remains consistent from year to year. In the morning, registration opens for the team games, and entertainment begins for children in costume, who can play freely along the traffic-free streets of the center. In the afternoon, the most anticipated moment arrives: the parade of masks and allegorical floats along the main street, with floats designed and built by local youth with the support of local associations and businesses.

• Team games open to teenagers and adults
• Entertainment for children with clowns, cotton candy, balloons, and carnival games
• Parade of masked groups and allegorical floats in the historic center
• Final awards for the best float, team, and costume
• Closing buffet offered by the organizers

A festival that reaches out to neighboring towns

As is the case in many Cilento villages, the Felitto Carnival does not exist in isolation: over the years, masked groups and Felitto floats have taken part in inter-municipal tours that, in the days between Carnival Sunday and Shrove Tuesday, connect the towns of the Calore Valley and the Piana del Sele—from Albanella to Castel San Lorenzo, from Altavilla Silentina to Roccadaspide—and more recently in regional festivals along the Cilento coast. It is a way to share months of hard work and strengthen ties between small, neighboring communities.

Who organizes it

The event has a long history linked to the Pro Loco Felitto, which organized it for years under the patronage of the municipal administration and with the collaboration of the Parish. In the 2025 edition, the baton passed to the ReAttiva Mente association, led by Tiziana De Matteis, which managed two days of festivities under the patronage of the Municipality of Felitto, led by Mayor Carmine Casella.

Felitto, the home of the fusillo and the Calore Gorges

Those who arrive for the Carnival discover a medieval village that preserves sections of its fortified walls with circular towers and a compact historic center, nestled at about 275 meters above sea level. Felitto is known throughout Campania for two reasons: the fusillo felittese, the handmade pasta wrapped around a knitting needle, celebrated every summer by the historic food festival, and the Calore Gorges in the Remolino area, one of the most spectacular river landscapes in Cilento, popular for canyoning, kayaking, and riverside walks. In winter, the Carnival is the perfect opportunity to see the village in its most intimate and daily dimension, far from the crowds of the tourist season.

When it takes place

The Felitto Carnival traditionally falls on the final days of Carnival, usually on the Sunday or Shrove Tuesday: the date changes every year according to the liturgical calendar. In 2025, the festival was held on March 2nd and 4th; in previous editions, it took place in February. It is always advisable to check the date on the channels of the Pro Loco and local Felitto associations before setting off.