Gigacon Caserta

A long-awaited debut in the Terra di Lavoro

Gigacon is the new event dedicated to comics, gaming, and entertainment that launched in the municipality of San Marco Evangelista, just outside Caserta, on February 7 and 8, 2026. Organized by Hidden Door S.r.l., the festival immediately established itself as an intergenerational gathering, bridging the gap between young fans and those nostalgic for the 80s and 90s. The province of Caserta, in Campania, had yet to host a pop culture event of this scale: the debut successfully filled a void in a region already attentive to the Comicon in Naples.

The A1 Expò exhibition center

The chosen venue is the A1 Expò exhibition center on Viale delle Industrie, in the industrial zone of San Marco Evangelista, one of the most spacious exhibition venues in inland Campania. The vast pavilions allowed the content to be distributed across six distinct zones—Main Stage, Pop Stage, KST Stage, Crossover Plaza, and two meet & greet areas—avoiding the bottlenecks typical of crowded nerd conventions and allowing families to move around comfortably.

The kingdom of retrogaming

The gaming heart of the event was the video game area, with over 200 freely accessible stations. Alongside more than a hundred original arcade cabinets from the 80s and 90s, restored and set to free play, there were dozens of retro consoles and various latest-generation stations including PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and gaming PCs. A journey through forty years of video game history that attracted both serious collectors and younger players alike.

Artist alley and market

The comics section featured an artist alley with over forty illustrators from major publishing houses, busy drawing live and meeting readers. Notable names included Pasquale Qualano, Luca Maresca, Andrea Scoppetta, and Alessandro Ranaldi, joined by the great international guest David Lloyd, artist of V for Vendetta. Surrounding them was the market area with exhibitors selling comics, manga, action figures, gadgets, and memorabilia.

Cosplay, bricks, and workshops

• Crossover Plaza: the space where wrestling performances intertwined with competitions, parades, dressing rooms, and photo sets for cosplayers.
• Brick area: monumental constructions on public display and dozens of tables for family-oriented workshops.
• Drawing workshops: educational sessions on comics and illustration open to teens and adults.
• Quizzes and debates: Marvel and Star Wars-themed challenges, panels on Japanese animation, and K-pop dance contests.

The big stage guests

The live program focused heavily on cartoon theme songs, a shared emotional heritage for multiple Italian generations. Giorgio Vanni brought the hits of Pokémon, Dragon Ball, and One Piece to the stage, while Cristina D'Avena closed the Sunday with the final concert. Other guests included voice actors Flavio Aquilone, Emanuela Pacotto, and Renato Novara, creator Yotobi, actress Anna Mazzamauro, Giovanni Muciaccia—a historic face of children's television—and Chef Hiro with his Japanese cooking demonstrations.

An event designed for families

Unlike many conventions reserved for hardcore enthusiasts, Gigacon tailored its offering to a broad audience: free admission for children up to six years old, accessible workshops, refreshment areas, and a free shuttle service from the Caserta train station. This approach proved successful, with local press reporting that the event exceeded expectations in its very first edition.

Looking to the future

With the successful 2026 debut behind it, Gigacon is poised to become a permanent fixture in the Campania calendar, complementing the major events in Naples. As of the writing of this guide, the organization has not yet officially announced the dates for the next edition: it is recommended to follow the official channels of the event and the A1 Expò exhibition center for updates.