Fried Pizza Festival

A festival that smells of oil and yeast

In the lush greenery of the Picentini Mountains, just minutes from Salerno, the village of Sordina in the municipality of San Mango Piemonte has been hosting one of the province's most popular food festivals for over a decade: the Fried Pizza Festival. The event was born from the initiative of the Sorrisi Sparsi Association, which every year transforms the square of the Church of San Matteo into a large open-air kitchen, with pans always hot and a line of curious foodies waiting for their golden disc of dough.

The continuity of the event is rare for a local village festival: by 2019, it was already celebrating its seventh edition (from July 11 to 14), while 2025 marked the thirteenth. Even the calendar has changed several times over the years — July in the early editions, September in 2023 and 2024, and August in 2025 — a sign of a vibrant festival that adapts to the seasons and the availability of its volunteers.

Fried pizza, the queen of Campanian popular cuisine

Fried pizza is one of the most authentic symbols of Neapolitan and Campanian tradition: leavened dough, plunged into boiling oil and served immediately, puffy and crispy. It is not restaurant food; it is street food and home cooking, born in the post-war period when ovens were a luxury but frying pans were not. In Sordina, it is offered in both its simplest version and numerous stuffed variations, alongside other dishes that have accompanied the festival over the years.

• Fried pizza prepared and served on the spot
• Stuffed variations and sweet versions
• Filled sandwiches and traditional Salernitan country dishes
• Pasta and beans and freshly fried zeppole, featured in past editions
• Food stands managed by the association's volunteers

Live music and evenings in the square

The formula is the tried-and-tested one of Campanian festivals: you eat early, then you stay. In the 2025 edition, the stage hosted a different band every night starting at 9:00 PM — Tutta n'ata band, Highway to Heaven, Kalimma, and Naltrosound — with a DJ set by Mikemegaro closing the evenings from 11:00 PM. Folk music, covers, and danceable hits accompany a very diverse audience, from families with children to groups of young people arriving from Salerno and neighboring towns.

Focus on gluten-free

For several editions, the festival has hosted a dedicated gluten-free stand every night, managed by a specialized laboratory from Salerno and certified by AIC Campania. This is a significant choice for a village festival, allowing even those with celiac disease to taste fried pizza fresh from the pan: it is one of the reasons why the event has become a staple in the gluten-free calendar of Campania.

A community celebration

Behind the Fried Pizza Festival is an entire village. The organization by the Sorrisi Sparsi Association has relied over the years on the support of the Municipality of San Mango Piemonte, the Municipality of Salerno, the SS. Nicola and Matteo Parish, and the Pro Loco San Mango Piemonte APS, with an information point available to visitors. The proceeds and the spirit of the initiative remain tied to the local community life in an area of the province of Salerno that thrives on small hillside communities.

Why it's worth the trip

Those visiting Campania in the summer will find dozens of festivals, but few manage to maintain this balance between a family atmosphere and product quality. In Sordina, there is no tourist staging: there is a church square, plastic chairs, the sound of sizzling oil, and voices speaking in dialect. This is exactly what makes the Fried Pizza Festival a great starting point for understanding how people eat — and how they socialize — in the Salernitan hinterland.