Fusillo and Pezzente Festival

A community celebration in the heart of Irpinia

Some festivals are created to attract tourists, while others are born to bring a village together: the Fusillo and Pezzente Festival in Montefredane clearly belongs to the latter category. In this small town in the province of Avellino, Campania, the late July event has for decades been the moment when the entire community gets to work: local housewives at the pasta stations, committee volunteers at the stoves and stalls, and families and returning emigrants sitting together on outdoor benches.

Three consecutive evenings, a menu that never changes because it doesn't need to, folk music late into the night, and proceeds that go to charity every year. It is this simple formula that has made the event one of the most well-known in the Irpinian summer, drawing thousands of visitors from Avellino and neighboring towns.

Pezzente: the humble meat turned into a prized dish

Pezzente is a traditional Irpinian peasant sausage made from the less noble parts of the pig—the cuts that once could not be thrown away. Slightly spicy, it is slow-cooked in sauce, transforming into an intense seasoning used to flavor ragù, soups, and stews. Its name says everything about its origin: a humble ingredient that home cooking has elevated to the rank of a prized delicacy.

Accompanying it is the fusillo, the long, hollow pasta rolled on a metal rod, one of the symbols of inland Campanian cuisine. At the festival, it can be tasted in two classic versions: simple, with tomato sauce, or with pezzente.

What to eat at the stalls

• Fusilli with pezzente, the event's signature dish;
• Pork rind rolls and mbuttunata (stuffed) pork rind;
• Large sausage meatballs;
• Carne e purco e papauri, the traditional pork with peppers and potatoes;
• Peasant-style beans;
• Grilled meat and sausages with various sides;
• Traditional desserts and local wines from the Avellino hills.

Folk music every night

Alongside the food stalls, each evening features live entertainment. The artistic direction has always favored Southern folk music: tammurriate, pizzica, Campanian folk groups, and ensembles reviving Neapolitan songs. The Montefredane stage has hosted, among others, the Bottari, Gerardo Amarante with the Spaccapaese, the Malamente, the Ragazzi del Cuore, and the band Achille e la Montemaranese, linked to the nearby carnival tradition of Montemarano.

A charitable festival, made by the village

The feature the organizers are most proud of is the destination of the proceeds: the income from the three evenings is donated to charity. This choice is accompanied by the decision to keep prices very low, in keeping with the original spirit of village festivals, where food was meant to remain accessible to everyone. The organization is entrusted to the Fusillo and Pezzente Festival Committee, currently led by Adriano Gaita, with the support of the municipal administration.

A thirty-year history

The event reached its thirtieth edition in 2023, when it returned after the hiatus imposed by the pandemic: on that occasion, Mayor Ciro Aquino spoke of thousands of attendees over the three nights and a village capable of mobilizing like few others. After a few years of reflection, the committee has announced the return of the festival for the summer of 2026, from July 31st to August 2nd.

Montefredane, a hillside village at the gates of Avellino

Montefredane is a small hillside town a few kilometers from the Irpinian capital, surrounded by hills planted with vineyards in one of the most suitable areas for Campanian viticulture. The town center, compact and easy to explore on foot, is a pleasure to visit in the late afternoon before the stalls open: it is the best way to understand the origins of a festival that, more than a tourist event, remains the great collective appointment of the village.